


Two Solitudes

by FivePips



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comedy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating, Fake Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Holiday, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pretend Relationship, Romantic Comedy, Sharing a Bed, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-06-19 17:34:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15514995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FivePips/pseuds/FivePips
Summary: Sirius is about to lose his mind. Effie won't stop setting him up on dates and he's not interested in settling down at all. Lily offers a plan to help him get out of it... with maybe a hidden motive."Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other." - Rainer Maria Rilke





	1. The Set Up

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning on posting today but it's Harry's Birthday so obviously I had to.
> 
> There’s not going to be this many POV changes in each chapter, it was just sort of setting the story up. Normally it will just be Remus and/or Sirius.

“I just don’t see why it didn’t work with Benjy.” Effie shook her head, sounding disappointed in Sirius. He was used to disappointment so it wasn’t that big of a deal. “He was a perfectly nice bloke. As was Caradoc. As was Gilderoy.”

“I’ll give you Caradoc and Ben but Gilderoy was a twat, mum,” James said.

Sometimes Sirius felt like he didn’t need to be in the room when his adoptive family and Regulus were talking about him as they were now. He loved them all but they drove him completely round the twist some days. Those days mostly happened whenever he was single. Effie was hellbent on finding Sirius a boyfriend. All his proper dates over the last year came from her setting them up with blokes from Monty’s company or sons of friends. He was growing very sick of it.

“James, we’re at the table.” Effie lectured her son.

“I have to second that about Lockhart.” Regulus made a face. “He was a right tosser.”

“Regulus!” She admonished Sirius’ younger brother.

“Have you ever met Kingsley? He’s a bit older than you but that might be good.” Monty suggested.

Sirius huffed a breath before reaching for his glass of wine. He needed this to end and end quickly before he lost his mind. He looked to Lily who was sitting that as always with a smirk on her lips when things went this way. He loved the woman but she enjoyed his pain far too much.

“Kingsley? Really? He’s a good ten years older than Sirius.” Effie considered. “You know, it might be perfect. You need some more stability in your life. An older man could be that for you.”

He drained the rest of the wine in his glass. Sirius did not need stability. He was fine.

“Sirius doesn’t need a sugar daddy, he has plenty of his own money.” Regulus laughed and Lily almost choked on her mouthful of wine.

“Regulus,” Effie shook her head.

“I need a cigarette. Dinner was lovely, thank you.” Sirius pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. “I’ll think about Kingsley.” He said before heading towards the back door.

Sirius never was one for relationships. He didn’t see the point of them. They were generally just more work than he was interested in doing outside of his actual job. Going out and having fun was fine. He had plenty of one-offs and a few people he saw from time to time. But he never saw the point in more. Now that he was 29, James and Lily were married and probably trying to get pregnant, and Regulus was in a committed relationship with Bill Weasley, Effie was obsessed with getting him to find someone to love him.

“You all right?” Lily asked, closing the door behind her as Sirius lit his fag.

“I’m fine, I’m over this whole crusade of her’s.”

“Tell her that then.” Lily offered. “She loves you, but you know how she is.”

“I wish I could tell her that I’m dating someone to get her off my back.”

“Or, what if I set you up with someone?”

“Lily, no.” Was she becoming one of them?

“Oh, I’m not saying for real. I’m just saying to help get Effie to drop it. You could tell her that this whole set up thing isn’t working but you’re willing to try once more. I can say I have someone in mind.”

“Okay.”

“We could have you two date steadily for a while and maybe she’ll get over it. Then after you can bide your time saying you’re nursing your heartache.” Lily said.

“You’re devious and I love you.” Sirius grinned before taking a long drag of his cigarette.

“I’m a barrister, what do you expect?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know a bloke who’d be interested?” Sirius asked.

“I might. But I’d have to ask him first.” Lily furrowed her brow. “Let’s wait till next Sunday. We can firm everything up over the week.”

“Who were you thinking?” Sirius asked. He knew Lily’s friends. Mary, Alice, Fleur, and Em. There was Alice and Mary’s boyfriends too Frank and what’s his face. Apparently, none of them would be who she’d set him up with.

“Ah, do you remember the name Remus Lupin?”

Sirius’ face fell. “He hates me!” Sirius complained.

During Uni, Jame and Sirius had gone to visit’s Lily hometown over the summer for one week. The Lupin’s resided down the way from Lily’s and they were childhood friends. Lupin was going to college up in Scotland, where they were from originally and they moved next to Lily when she was 10, but he was back home for the summer. He was an arsehole. He hated Sirius and Sirius wasn’t the fondest of him either for reasons.

“He — you two were, I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. But I do know that if you throw a little money at him, Remus would be willing. The bloke is living paycheck to paycheck as he’s working on his PhD.” Lily explained. “He’d probably do some weird shit for cash.”

Sirius made a face and Lily laughed, “I’m joking of course. But I know he’d be willing to set aside whatever he has against you to earn some easy money.”

“Well, you have to talk to him first. I’m not opposed to the whole idea. Plus, it’s not like we’d be living together. I’d only see him occasionally.”

“Right.” Lily nodded. “Let me work my magic on him this week and we’ll try to get Effie to leave you alone starting next Sunday for a few weeks.”

“You’re amazing, Evans. I’m glad I don’t have to go against you in the court of law ever. It’s bad enough when we have arguments.” Sirius shook his head. “James wins nothing at home, does he?”

“I let him win some. It’s only fair.” Lily nudged him with her elbow. “Effie only does this because she cares about you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know. She’s just overbearing. Monty and James can be the same way.”

“Oh, I know that. You remember what it was like planning the wedding. Shite that was ridiculous.” Lily sighed as Sirius dropped his cigarette and stepped on it.

“That was. God bless you. You married into that.”

“You were basically adopted into that.” She pointed out.

“We’re lucky, aren’t we?”

“So lucky.” Sirius grinned.

He hoped that Lily’s plan would work.

*******

Lily Evans-Potter was nothing if not determined. She knew that Remus and Sirius were meant to be together. They just had to get over whatever the fuck happened way back when Sirius visited her place during Uni. Remus never told her what the fuck happened and to this day just refused to tell her. She loved the man but he was stubborn as shite.

Remus was leaving the library he worked at King’s just in time. He was tall but not lanky, he looked strong and was generally strong unless his thyroid was being a bother. His autoimmune disease had thrown loops in his academic plans a few times in the past because they didn’t catch it until he was older. He was pretty good now.

He was good-looking, perfect for Sirius. Tall with hazel eyes and full lips. He had dimples, which she knew Sirius would love. His curly light brown hair was cut into an undercut. He also had a collection of tattoos all over his body and a tongue piercing. Remus joked he had other things pierced too but Lily never found out what exactly.

Lily was waiting across the entranceway and waved at him with a big grin. She was happy that the man had moved to London from Edinburgh after so many years of being in Scotland. He’d only been back in town for just a month now. Lily wished he had more time in his life to spend with her and her mates.

“Lil, what are you doing here?” Remus laughed as she came over. “Do you not have work or are you just skiving off like the rich lady you are now?”

“You know me, barefoot, pregnant, and eating bonbons on the settee.” She said with a grin then hit him on the back of the head.

“What was that for?” He said with his Scottish accent. Only some of his words were catching it as schooling heavily influenced it just outside of London. It did sound like being back in Scotland for a while had brought it back up.

“Your accent’s gone thick again, Lupin.” She made fun of him.

“It isna thick! It’s in and out. I’ll lose it soon enough.”

“I think the thicker, the better. It’s cuter. I like it.” She looped her arm through his and started walking them in the direction of the restaurant she enjoyed nearby.

“Are you not a married lass any longer?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Has my time to sweep Lily Evans off her feet finally arrived?” He did just that, picking her up in a fireman’s carry.

She laughed so hard that her sides hurt. “Fuck you, Remus.” She said between laughs.

“You love me.” He set her down as a few people gave them odd looks as they walked passed them.

“I do, sadly.” Lily shook her head as they continued walking. “That is why you’re going to do something for me.”

“Och, you’ve that look on your face that you’re on to a scheme.” Remus pointed at her face with his long finger.

“Do you want to make some money, Lupin?” She asked. This was a bit tricky because she knew if they did fall in love this might be a sticking point. But she also knew this was the only way she could get Remus actually to try it out. If they grew to fancy one another they’d figure it out.

Remus sighed loudly, “Always. What are you planning now?”

“Let’s settle in for dinner first. My treat.” She stopped in front of the restaurant.

“Not so sure if I should say yes or no.”

“Just hear me out.”

“You know I canna say no to you.” He huffed.

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping, Remus.” She pulled him into the restaurant.

Once they had sat down and ordered drinks Lily leaned on the table. She put on her sweetest smile. Remus glared at her. “How am I going to make some more money?”

“I have a friend who needs a favor.”

“I’m not running drugs.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“Bugger off. My friend is done with James’ mum being insistent on setting him up so we’re trying to get her off his back. She means well but is overbearing and he’s not interested in dating at all.”

“Fuck off, this is Sirius Black issna it?” Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not dating the fuckin roaster.”

“Oooh very Scottish.” She grinned. “Come on, Re. I don’t know what the bloody hell happened back then but I do know that Sirius has grown and matured quite a bit.” Lily couldn’t argue that Sirius drove her mad when they were starting at Uni. There were reasons he was that way. “It’s easy money. All you have to do is come to Sunday dinners. Maybe make an appearance at a birthday party or holiday do. I know money’s tight and all.”

Remus sighed loudly. “Does he know it’s me?”

“Aye,” Lily smirked.

“And he said yes?” He shook his head at Lily’s reply.

“He figured that he’s fine with it because it’s not like you two are living together or what not.”

“Right, I didna know, Lils.”

“Why don’t you like him?” She pressed.

“Dinna worry about it.” Remus waved her off.

Lily didn’t like whatever it was that made both men seem put off by one another. Sirius was a little shite but she couldn’t imagine what had occurred the week that he and James were in town. The animosity seemed to be coming from Remus mostly, so obviously, Sirius had fucked something up.

She went on to explain her plan to Remus to get Effie off Sirius’ back. Lily told him that she’d help negotiate some type of contract for them. “It’d be enough to help you be comfortable by the time the fall term starts. I’ll make sure of it.”

“To have disposable income.”

“You just have to pretend to fancy him and eat Effie’s delicious food for a couple of weeks.” She shrugged. “You could have a little disposable income by the time this is through.” She said, mainly thinking that if Sirius and Remus fell in love and married then he’d have all of Sirius’ money as well. “Plus, Lupin I know all your deep dark secrets.”

“Fine, we can meet and talk about it.”

“Can you do Friday after your shift at the library? You can come to James and my flat for dinner.” Lily offered.

“Sure, why not.” Remus shrugged. “Just tell him that I still dinna like him.”

“Ha, I’ll give him fair warning.”

“Brilliant. Now I’m going to order the most expensive thing on the menu for you to make up for bullying me into this.”

*******

Remus was only doing this because Lily Evans still managed to put the fear in him. She had been able to since he was 10 and she nearly beheaded him with a cricket bat. After that, he was fast friends with the ginger next door. Lily was always up to something. She looked innocent but had something in the works behind the scenes. Remus loved that about her.

The two of them got away with quite a bit because they seemed unsuspecting. Remus himself looked like a swot with his jumpers and constant book in hand. But if you peeled back the jumpers you’d find tattoos and piercings. Those surprises always helped him get laid.

Anyway, he was standing in front of James and Lily’s flat about to commit to pretend date some bloke he despised. He wished he had the bollocks to say no to Evans. She opened the door grinning at him. Her red hair was up in a messy bun but she was still wearing work trousers and a nice top. “You made it! Come on, James is finishing making dinner. Sirius is bothering him as normal.”

“You’re lucky I love you, Lily.”

“Aye.”

“I hate when you do that.” He laughed as they went into the flat.

“Okay, okay. Come on. Sirius is going to be civil so you have to as well.” Lily ushered him in.

Remus hadn’t been to James and Lily’s flat for some time. He had spent most of his time in Scotland up until his dad passed earlier in the year. He figured he’d rather be close to his mam while he worked on his PhD in Renaissance history. He loved Scotland but he wasn’t too upset to leave it as he loved London just as much as Edinburgh. The only issue was that he could barely afford either place.

In the kitchen, James Potter with his perpetually messy hair and tanned skin was sautéing something on the stovetop as Sirius stood by him. He was wearing jeans and a button-up shirt. It was a casual day at the Potter’s office. Remus did resent both James and Sirius. They probably barely had to put in any work at Uni since they knew they could go right off and work for Monty Potter. They had money and didn’t need to worry, unlike Lily and Remus. That was where the hatred for Black stemmed from mostly. It didn’t help when he made some quip about how small the houses were and then acted like a twat the rest of the time he was there that summer.

James was all right. Remus liked him from the times they got together. He was arse over tit for Lily and was doing the most to impress her. He never really bothered Remus too much. Plus, if Lily liked him he couldn’t be so bad. She didn’t like Sirius much at first and Remus was sure she only tolerated him because he was James’ best mate.

“All right, Lupin?”

“All right, yourself, Potter?” Remus smiled as Lily went to the refrigerator.

“Just fine. You remember Sirius, your future fake boyfriend, right?”

“Sirius, hi.” He nodded at him as Lily handed him a beer.

“Hi,” Sirius said. “So, you want to do it?”

“I’m sure Lily told you I’m a wee bit skint at the moment.” He scrunched his nose.

“Ah, good, thanks. It’s easy enough if you can tolerate me for that long.” Sirius said with a laugh but Remus could tell he was being honest.

“I can do a lot of things for some extra quid.”

“Told you, he’d do some weird shite.”

“Nothing like that.” Remus shook his head.

James declared dinner ready and they sat down at the table. Their conversation was civil as they ate. Remus did his best to be kind to Sirius as they ate. Lily said they would discuss the agreement after they finished.

“Okay, so, why on earth do you dislike one another?” Lily asked when they were done. “I just want to know what on earth happened.”

Sirius looked at Remus with his piercing blue eyes. Remus wished the other man was not attractive with his high cheekbones and long black hair. But he was. Remus wouldn’t mind a shag but he couldn’t imagine liking Sirius ever enough to date him.

“He loves you.” Sirius pointed between Remus and Lily.

Remus wished he could have seen his face because that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He looked at Lily and she burst out laughing, as did Remus. “What the fuck, Black?” Lily said between peals of laughter. James was giggling as well.

“Do you fuck him, Sirius?” Remus pointed to James when he was able to control his laughter.

“Ah, what? NO! He’s practically my brother.”

“She’s practically my sister.” Remus, he nodded at Lily. “I’d sooner shag the old lady who lives in the flat below mine.”

Lily snorted a laugh. “That’s what you’ve held against Remus this whole bloody time?”

Sirius looked embarrassed. “Well, what’d you have against me then? You hate me.”

“Don’t know, you’re just a bastard, are you na?”

“I am, yeah,” Sirius said haughtily. “You’re willing to put up with that for some cash?”

“I put up with bastards for no money now don’t I?” Remus reasoned. “Some dinners, parties, and what have you. I didna mind.”

“So, how much?” Sirius asked.

“I was thinking £150 a week as a baseline,” Lily suggested. Remus thought £150 would be nice. He just managed to have enough money to pay his bills and get some food. The extra cushion could allow him to go out and have fun without worrying too much and/or save it. “We add about £150 for each party or dinner outside out of Sunday’s usual.”

“That’s fine,” Sirius said with a wave of his hand.

“What am I expected to do?” Remus questioned.

“Come to Potter functions and act like a boyfriend. You’re not making out with him or anything.” Lily said. “Just you know, hold his hand, put an arm around him, pretend to fancy the pants off of him.”

“How are we going to do it?” Sirius questioned.

“Hang on, let me get my calendar.” Lily put a finger up.

Remus watched Lily dart out towards the living room and less than a minute later she came back with an agenda book and a pen. She opened it up with a sigh. “Okay, so this Sunday we lay the groundwork. I tell Effie I have someone for Sirius after he explains he’s no longer interested in being set up. I offer it up as someone last chance thing before we give up.”

The men all nodded in agreement with her plan.

“Then next Sunday, Remus comes for the first Sunday dinner. It’s fine if things are a bit awkward then because you’ve just started dating. She won’t expect full on love. We keep up the ruse for let’s see,” Lily went to count on the calendar. “How about seven weeks? If we go any longer that goes into our holiday. Though, if you’re willing Remus, that’d be good. It’d look like you’re serious about one another.”

“Oh, I can’t afford a trip,” Remus said.

“Well, if you could get the time off, Monty and Effie will insist on paying your way for the accommodations and the like because they’re paying for all of us. I could then refund any money you’re missing from work on top of our fee. I think that if we break up before that then it could be rather hard to be on that trip with Effie. She might be a bother. Hovering like I was .”

Remus looked at Sirius with wide eyes. That seemed like a lot of money but the Potters had a lot of money. Sirius had a lot of money as well. If they were all willing to pay for the shite so that Sirius could avoid being pestered then it didn’t matter. It was easy money and he’d get a holiday out of it.

“You could “break up” before the fall semester starts then.” Lily shrugged, still looking in her planner.

“Sounds like a decent deal.”

“You’d have to share a bed on the trip though. Well, cabin. It’s a cruise on the Rhine and Danube. 15 days.” Lily informed him.

Remus just nodded, not wanting to sound like an idiot when he opened his mouth. This could be an excellent deal in the end.

“I’ll draw up a contract. If either of you needs to break things off for whatever reason, you can. Like, if you meet another person or whatever.”

“Sounds fair.” Remus nodded. He wasn’t planning to fall for anyone. He had enough to worry about.

*******

James looked at Remus and Sirius then to Lily who was beaming at them. She was cunning and smart. Too much so for her good, it seemed because these two idiots didn’t know she and any ulterior motive. She looked like she was being a good mate to Sirius and Remus at the same time. Help get his mother off Sirius’ case and help Remus make some money on the side with an easy job. James knew her better.

Eventually, Remus and Sirius left. It sounded like they were both going to different clubs to pull. The two morons had no idea that Lily thought they could both be happy getting off with each other. “So, you’re trying to set them up, aren’t you?”

“Am I being that obvious?” Lily smirked at him

“No, I just know you well.” James took a sip of his wine.

“I know they’re completely different people in some respects but in others, they’re the same. They would be brilliant together, don’t you think?”

“They hate each other.” James pointed out. “I don’t think tonight solved a thing.”

“They don’t understand each other,” Lily said. “Sirius thought Remus was in love with me.”

“Yeah, that was pretty funny.” James laughed. He never got that feeling between Remus and Lily, so he was surprised to hear that from his mate. “You two never…”

“God no, you never thought that before.”

“I don’t know, Sirius seemed to see something.”

“Sirius is a fucking idiot. That’s why we’re here right now with he and Remus.”

“I hope this meddling of yours works out. You’ve seen what’s happened with the blokes mum has set him up with.”

“Yes, but that’s only because Sirius knew what was going on. He won’t now. It’s good that Remus is interested in the trip. Some romantic dinners in different counties. Sharing a bed. It’ll be good.”

“You’re horrible.”

“And that’s part of the reason why you love me.”

“So bloody much. Just hope Sirius and Remus don’t end up hating you.”

“They’ll never even know,” Lily said confidently. James hoped that she was right. Otherwise, this was all going to end terribly.


	2. The Groundwork

Sunday dinner and Sirius wasn’t ready to completely pull his hair out of his head. Effie had insinuated more about Kingsley before they sat down but he was able to evade it. Lily gave him a knowing look when she heard that conversation. Sirius just needed to suffer through this all one more time before having Remus around him to be the buffer. Hopefully, she’d start asking Reggie and Bill their plans to wed.

Now they were sitting down to dinner Effie suggested to set up a date with the older man in question. Sirius knew it was time. “Effie, I don’t think I want to go on any more dates.” He said, he prayed that he was a good actor.

“Oh, Sirius, you’re almost 30 and you’re never going on any serious dates. It’s time you think about settling down. I only do this because I care about you.”

“I know, and I’m so glad you do,” Sirius said honestly. “Look, maybe I’ll give it a try one more time. If it works out, great. If not then we don’t try again. I’m not interested in dating someone ten years older than me though.”

“You know, Effie, I thought that I have this old friend who just moved back from Scotland. I think that Sirius would be interested in dating him.” Lily cut in before Effie could say anything.

Effie nodded, “Is it that Remus Lupin? You’ve mentioned him before.”

“Yes, actually it is! He’s lovely. I think he and Sirius would get on perfectly.”

Yes, perfectly, Sirius thought. So perfectly it would be like it was all a setup or something.

“All right, once more.” Effie nodded. “You’ll go on a date with him and if it goes well, you’ll bring him to dinner next Sunday. No matter, it’s always nice to have more guests.”

“A week seems so soon.” Lily offered like they were planning on that happening.

“Don’t worry, I won’t scare him.” Effie laughed, waving her hand. “Monty won’t either.”

“I had no plans to.” Monty chuckled.

“Brilliant! I’ll call him later. I have been talking Sirius up to him recently. I don’t think it’d be too hard to get them to go on a date.” Lily nodded. Sirius decided the woman terrified him and never wanted to be on her wrong side.

After dinner, Lily told Sirius that he should go to dinner with Remus at some point over the week. Just to at least make it appear they know the necessary things about one another. Sirius couldn’t see the harm in that, even if Remus did hate him. He couldn’t be arsed to care too much about that because it wasn’t as if they needed to be mates to do this.

Okay, that was a lie. Now that he knew Remus wasn’t interested in Lily in any way but as a mate, he wanted to be liked by the other man. He had this daft need to be loved by everyone. It probably stemmed from that fact that his own parents barely liked him but he didn’t want to worry about that now, he had a therapist for that.

Sirius didn’t understand why Remus hated him. Sure, he was a bastard before but Remus didn’t seem to care that Sirius was no longer an angsty 19-year-old. He was delighted and tried his best not to be too much of a prat nowadays. Maybe more time with Remus would help the other man see that. Sirius would like a new mate if anything. All the other ones were getting married now. Remus could be his single friend.

***

Remus whistled to himself as he made he way to the pub he was meeting Alice, Frank, and Mary at. It had been over a week since he met with the Potters and Sirius to set up their flat. He had £250 extra in his bank. The reason for the 100 extra was because Lily thought it’d be a good idea if they met beforehand. Sirius texted him and suggested a place to meet. Remus didn’t have a problem with it. Hopefully, there would not be much bragging on the other man’s part.

“There he is, the local rent boy.” Mary laughed loudly as Remus took a seat at the table. There was already a pint waiting for him. He had told Alice about what was going on, and she apparently had let Mary and Frank know as well. They’d find out eventually as they were mates with Lily too. It was a good laugh.

“Fuck off, the lot of you.” Remus threw the V at her. “I dinna plan on sleeping with him.”

“It sounds like a great plan, though,” Frank said. “I’ve met Effie a few times and that woman REALLY cares about everyone. I could see her being sometimes suffocating.”

“Sirius is all right, you know?” Alice said before taking a drink. “We’ve seen him a fair share since you’ve been out of the country and we like him.”

Remus did not feel like describing to the group why he had a severe dislike of Sirius Black. As much as he wasn’t a fan of the man, he wasn’t about to drag his name through the mud with people who were sort of mates with him. Remus was a bastard himself but he was not that much of one.

“You look unconvinced that he’s all right.” Mary pointed out to everyone. “What happened?”

“I dinna know, Mary.” He said with a shrug. “I just didna like him then.”

“Isn’t it a bit weird then, pretending to be a boyfriend for someone you don’t like all that much?”

“Aye, but I’m getting some money. That’s all that matters.” Remus smiled.

“I just hope you don’t end up broken-hearted.” Mary frowned.

“I dinna know how you’re on about that. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard since Black said he thought I was in love with Lily. I’d marry her before I’d marry him.” Remus shook his head. “Can we talk about something else? Alice, are you pregnant yet?”

Alice rolled her eyes but it did get the change of topic he was hoping for.

***

Sirius was biting at his cuticles as he waited for Remus at the restaurant he had picked. The man had texted him with numerous apologies because his supervisor had kept him late. Sirius was late anyway, so it didn’t matter. Sirius was worried how things were going to go. He was far more confident when the whole things was merely an idea. Now, Remus was going to be coming by the Potter’s for Sunday dinner. They needed to have some type of first date story so it was smart Lily suggested they meet up.

The good thing was that it was a setup. It’s not as if they met organically and randomly. They didn’t need to improvise their meet cute and how they looked into each other eyes and just knew it was love. But they did have to seem like they were interested in one another.

“Sorry, I’m late. I hate lateness but I sadly couldn’t control this.” Remus said with his slight Scottish accent. Sirius was that if he didn’t hate Remus at first and now didn't think Remus hated his guts he would have found it sexy. “My bleeding supervisor is a twat.”

“No worries, I’m normally late as it is. Your dialect is interesting.” Sirius pointed out.

“I know. I use British slang and Scottish slang and my accent’s all kinds of odd. It’s to do with the English mam and Scottish dad and splitting my time between both countries.” He picked up a menu. “So, do you still think I’m trying to shag your friend’s wife?”

Sirius went pink. He felt like a tosser after accusing him of liking Lily. Sirius just thought they were far too close. But on some introspection, he believed that James and Sirius could be too close for some people’s likings as well. “I don’t know, I always had it in my head.”

“Mmm, was that part of the reason you were a bastard to me?” Remus asked as the waitress came over. They both ordered their drinks and she left.

“I guess,” Sirius said. “Can I ask what I did to you?”

Remus shifted in his seat and looked a little uncomfortable. “You were verra insulting about where Lily and I lived. You said the houses were small. You stuck your nose up at things. You were a snobby bastard. You also just acted like a dick.”

Sirius bit his lip, “Well, I was a snobby bastard. I was unaware of my privilege at the time but I’ve learned. I was also in the process of being completely disowned by my family for my lifestyle of sin. A.K.A. being gay. Not that it should be any excuse but I hope that explains a little bit to why I was acting that way.”

“It makes sense some. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Glad to hear you know that you were a snobby bastard as well.” Remus nodded.

“So, does this mean you hate me less.”

“I guess so. We’ll see how it goes.”

“I thought we should talk about what our first date was like, Effie will ask,” Sirius explained to the other man.

“She’s really so — invasive?”

“She means well. She simply wants me to be happy. I wasn’t for a long time and I am now. But she thinks I won’t truly be happy until I settle down and marry.”

“It’s a thing mothers do, I think. Mine’s the same. I might have to bring you round mine.”

“Oh, you could invite her to dinner when we get in a little deeper,” Sirius suggested with a smile. It would be a good idea.

“As long as I don’t have to pay you for that, that’s fine.”

“It’d be free. Think of it as a bonus.” Sirius laughed. “You don’t mind this all?”

“Nah, I dinna mind. Dinna fash yourself over it.” This was probably the longest Remus had been kind to him. Even at the dinner to set things up, he got a bit sarcastic at the end. “You’re not trying to shag me.”

Sirius scoffed at the idea.

“Pity though, you’d get to confirm to Lily what I’ve pierced,” Remus said with a sly look in his eye.

Sirius looked at the man in front of him. He looked every bit the librarian and scholar with the button up white shirt under his oatmeal jumper. “You?”

“Aye,” He stuck his tongue out to show off his piercing before going to roll up his sleeves to reveal a sleeve of flower tattoos with some other imagery that Sirius didn’t process at the moment. “More than meets the eye.” He winked.

“What else do you have pierced that you tease Lily about?” Sirius leaned on the table. He had never been with a bloke who had piercing and tattoos. Most of the ones he met, dated, or shagged with typical city boys. There was a time in his life where his fancied himself a punk and thought about getting things pierced and tattooed but he was too much of a wimp.

“You’ll never know.” Remus laughed as their drinks were placed in front of them.

They ordered their dinner and continued chatting. Remus filled Sirius on in his basics. More about his family, their names, that his dad passed, and that he moved closer to be near his mum. Sirius told him about his lovely parents. How his mum moved from Taipei to be with his very British father and became very British herself. He also informed him that he had nothing to do with them after being disowned. He wasn’t good for a while but he was good now. And he was sorry for being a snobby twat before.

“So, tomorrow, I’ll pick you up and we can drive over together,” Sirius said as their meal was coming to an end. “This was a good first date and second.”

They had decided to say they went on a date Tuesday, hit it off, texted one another, and had a second on Saturday. Sirius figured that would be good for Effie to hear. Lily would probably appreciate the extra background they built into their story. “No holding hands or anything tomorrow. I think that’s a week three type of deal.” Sirius suggested to his fake boyfriend.

“All right.” The other man looked at his phone and smirked. “Am I needed any longer or are you fine if I leave?”

“Hot Grindr date?”

“Actually, yes.” Remus licked his lips before pocketing his mobile.

“Well, have fun and be safe. See you tomorrow about four.” Sirius said as the other man stood up.

“Night, love.” Remus stooped over and pressed a kiss to Sirius’ mouth. Sirius was startled, not expecting that. But wow, Remus had very soft lips. He wasn’t expecting that. “You need to work on reactions to that stuff. You dinna want Effie to catch on. Have a good night, Sirius.”

Sirius nodded, not sure how else to react. Remus had a point. If he flinched at the slightest bit of physical contact, it was going to be a problem. “Yeah, good night.”

***

Remus stretched a little to the left as he waited for Sirius to pick him up outside of his flat the next afternoon. He was sure he pulled something the night previous. He ended up shagging a dancer from The Royal Ballet and got a little overzealous with trying a dance move. It wasn’t even sexual at that point. He was just an idiot.

As he stood there he wondered if what he was wearing was okay. Sirius and Lily both said it was very casual so jeans and a tee shirt would do. He never asked if Effie and Monty liked tattoos or not. He didn’t want to make them dislike him because the whole point was for them to think Remus was great for Sirius. So he wore a light flannel shirt of a navy t-shirt.

The car Sirius was driving shouldn’t have surprised him, but of course he was taken aback. He wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood so the bleeding Jaguar stopping in front of where he was standing on the pavement did throw him a bit. Remus got him, trying not to show on his face that he was impressed by the car. Sirius didn’t need any ego stroking. It was big enough as it was.

“Sorry I’m late, well, I’m always late as I said last night.” Sirius snickered. “Only ten minutes so not too bad. It normally edges on a half hour. Effie will think you’ve got to me if I’m only ten minutes late to the house.”

“Good, maybe next time we’ll be on time,” Remus said with a glare. “It’s rude to be late. The whole world doesn’t revolve around you, you know? I was in pain last night knowing I was running behind and it wasn’t even my fault.”

Sirius’ face went a bit sour. “Christ, sorry.”

Remus huffed and rolled his eyes. Clearly, Sirius still thought that the world waited on him. Effie probably cooked a lovely dinner and timed everything out. Though, he wouldn’t doubt, that she always added in enough time for Sirius to show his beautiful face.

“My brother’s going to be there too with his boyfriend Bill.”

“Do they know it’s fake?” Remus asked, trying to move passed his annoyance with Sirius. It wouldn’t do for them to go into the rowing.

“I haven’t told him it’s fake. He thinks it’s a regular old set up. He’ll probably be surprised that it’s sticking because they never stick.” Sirius said. “He might get suspicious. If he does, I’ll talk to him. He’ll think it’s hilarious but he won’t blow my cover because I’ll threaten to make Effie start planning his wedding to Bill. That’ll shut him up quickly.”

“That’s good then.”

They arrived at the Potter’s home in Kensington, five minutes late. Sirius looked like he wanted to say something about it but he seemed to decide against it. Remus was glad he did because he needed to be in a good mood. He did give him a look though, so he got something out of his system.

When they walked into the house, Remus was immediately hugged by who assumed was Effie Potter. She was a short Indian woman with brown eyes and a very maternal look and feel to her. “Oh, someone Sirius likes. It’s so wonderful that you wanted to join us.”

“He didn’t have much of a choice, Effie.” Sirius scoffed.

“It’s so nice to be here, Mrs. Potter,” Remus said in his most polite voice.

“No, Effie. Or Mum. Either is fine.” She said before going to hug Sirius.

“Come on, you can meet Monty, Reggie and Bill. Are they outside?” Sirius questioned.

“Yes, I’m just finishing up dinner. Out you go.” She shooed them with a wave of both hands.

Remus followed Sirius outside where James’ father, James, Lily, Regulus, and Bill were all sitting at the table on the patio. Regulus looked much like he brother with his cheekbones and nose but his face was a bit rounder and his eyes were brown, not Sirius’ piercing blue. Bill was a tall ginger that reminded him of two people…

“Are you related to the Prewetts by any chance?” Remus after he was introduced properly to Monty and the other two men.

“Oh, yeah, my uncles. Yeah, I know I’m nearly the same age as them. My grandparents had like 14 kids. Mum was one of the oldest and they were the youngest. How do you know them?”

“They’re mates with my friend Pete. Who now is married and living in the country. But you uncles are not. But I see them from time to time.”

“The day either of them marries, will be the day I eat my shoe.” Bill laughed.

“Reggie and Bill are halfway married,” Sirius said, sitting down at the table, pulling Remus down to sit in the chair next to him.

“Maybe you’ll beat us to the altar.” Regulus raised an eyebrow at his brother.

“You’ll scare poor Remus off, Regulus.” Monty chuckled.

“I dinna scare verra easily.” Remus grinned at Sirius’ little brother. Regulus looked at Remus with interest.

***

Regulus watched as Remus and Sirius regaled Effie and Monty of their first date and second date story. Something seemed fishy. The Potters didn’t seem to notice. Effie looked like she was calculating when an appropriate time would be to suggest to Sirius to look for an engagement ring. Remus was charming, funny, and just a bit sarcastic. He also didn’t look anything like his brother’s usual Type.

He was a little rough around the edges and had a tongue ring. Regulus even saw a that there was some tattoo up his arm when he reached over to put an arm around Sirius’ shoulders. Speaking of that, Sirius looked a little strange when the man did that. Like he wasn’t expecting it but he felt the need to force it to remain calm. They had to have shagged by now. He shared a wall with his brother for a long time before he moved in with Bill. He knew his habits well enough, unfortunately. He tended to like being cuddled even if you took any other physical intimacy out of it.

It wasn’t as if Reg disliked Remus. He was a fan of the man. He made some great jokes and ate the spicy food Effie forced on them all without batting an eye. He didn’t even seem affected by it, as if he wasn’t some whiter than white Scottish person. Remus also teased Sirius about running late all the time too. Regulus loved that.

“Och, the world does stop for Sirius Black,” He said when Effie revealed she always gave enough leeway for their meal being ready and Sirius showing up. Sirius blushed at it, which was surprising.

But still, Regulus felt like something was off. Lily and James looked far too pleased with it all. It also was strange that they had made a big deal out of things over the last dinner with Sirius not wanting to be set up any longer. Now his last chance was suddenly working out? It didn’t make sense. It was all too convenient for him.

As Sirius and Remus began to make the indication they were leaving (“Remus has to be up early to be at work in the morning”), Regulus said he was exhausted and wanted to head home to. He asked his brother for a ride back to his flat. Sirius gave him a look that said he knew the man was on to something. “Of course, Reggie,” Sirius said a bit bitingly as Remus was saying goodbyes to the Potters.

When they were in the car and on the way to Regulus and Bill’s flat Sirius, turn the radio down and looked in the rearview mirror. “What’s going on Regulus?”

“I’d venture a guess he’s figured it out, Sirius.” Remus laughed, turning in his seat. “Am I right?”

“I don’t know for certain what’s going on—”

“What is going on?” Bill nudged him.

“You two aren’t hitting it off and dating are you?”

“Right on the nose. He even knows I hate you.” Remus chuckled.

“Oi! You don’t hate me any longer.”

“Maybe.” Remus winked at Regulus before turning back in his seat. “Lily came up with the whole deal. I needed some extra cash. Sirius needed a boyfriend. It’s not too horrid.”

“If you fuck this up, Regulus, I will make sure Effie start planning your wedding right now.” Sirius threatened.

“Ha, ruin this? This is brilliant!” Regulus exclaimed.

Sirius looked at Remus, “He just said it’s brilliant.”

“He did.”

“It gets her to leave you alone, she’s happy, and Remus is making some money. Putting your inheritance to good use.” Regulus snickered, leaning a little into Bill. “Plus, I’d love to see how long you can go with this. I don’t have much faith in the acting abilities of my brother.”

***

Once Regulus was dropped off the car got very quiet. Remus wondered what the other man was thinking. He was a little rude with the whole being on time thing. He had set a precedent with being late when they met. “So, is this going to work out?”

“I think that this is going to work out just fine. Just, let’s both be on time next time.” Remus said. “Your brother’s hilarious.”

“Don’t let him fool you. He’s an evil little bastard.” Sirius shook his head.

Remus laughed deeply. “Probably why I like him.”

“You fancy that in men? Evilness.”

“I don’t fancy him. I don’t want to date Regulus. I think he’s great. He’d be a nice mate.”

“I can be devious too.”

Remus thought the man almost sounded jealous. That was a bit funny because Sirius didn’t have any reason to be jealous. Maybe it was because Remus didn’t hate his brother at first sight like he hated Sirius? That might be the only thing that made sense. Sirius seemed to have the urge to be liked or loved, probably came from his background with shitty parents.

“No one is as devious as Lily.” Remus pointed out. “She could con a conman.”

“That’s how Lily and James fell in love. It wasn’t conning but it was devious. We had a prank war and it ended up with them snogging after our last one.”

“I heard to story. It never surprised me.” Remus shook his head. “It didn’t surprise me that she was the one who came up with this idea to get you free from Effie’s mission of monogamy.”

Sirius chuckled as he pulled in front of Remus’ flat. “I’ll text you later. Maybe we can do lunch or something this week. Continue to work on this partnership or what not. I will foot the bill because it’s a business deal.”

“Sounds good, send me a text.” Remus snickered as he got out of the car. He decided against kissing Sirius again like he did at the pub. It was a good laugh to see his reaction but it was unneeded tonight.


	3. Nothing More Than Platonic

About four weeks later, Remus was reshelving some books mid-morning on a Monday thinking about his life of late. He had been to four Sunday dinners and a birthday party for Sirius’ cousin Tonks. He met Marlene and Dorcas, who were friends during the second week of dinner. He ended up hanging out with them a few times outside of that and told them how it was a lie. They loved it the whole idea of it.

The ploy seemed to be going well regarding keeping Effie and Monty believing that they were in a sweet relationship. They were holding hands, kissing each other on the cheek, and being generally cozy. That part was the easiest. Trying to show that he was in falling or already in love with Sirius was the hardest because he didn’t have those feelings. Sirius still had a slight tendency to be a bit of a snobby bastard. Though, he was rarely late now. But sometimes he’d make comments that would make Remus want to whack him.

Then he would do things like bring him coffee in the mid-morning as he was doing now, “Glad I’ve found you. The stringy-haired git with a big nose pointed me in this direction. I didn’t believe him.”

“I widna believe Snape either. You’ve good instincts.” Remus hated the bloke. He was a homophobic bastard who couldn’t take a joke. Once Sirius learned about all that, he made regular visits to the library to bring him coffee or pick him up for ‘dates’. It was close to Monty Potter’s office so it wasn’t as if it were out of the way.

“I just had the most boring meeting. I wanted to stab myself in the eye with my pen. I thought you might do for a little pick me up as well. It’s rather a dreary day out there today.”

“You are the best fake boyfriend.” Remus took the offered cup.

“So, would you fancy coming to a charity event on Friday night? I tried my best to get out of it because I hate those events, so much arse kissing and mutual wanking but no actual coming. If you come it might be a good time. I’ll buy you a suit and everything.” Sirius leaned against the shelf behind him.

“I do love being kept.” Remus snickered. “And how do you know I dinna have a suit?”

Sirius raised a condescending eyebrow. Remus would have got mad at him but the man was right and he didn’t feel like rowing. He also did not have the money to buy a suit. “Send me your measurements and I’ll have one sent to you.”

“Honestly, this feels very much like a sugar daddy situation some days.” Remus joked.

“We’re the same age and it’s not at all. It’s totally not and neither of us have any type of romantic or sexual feelings for one another. I think one of them do, right?” Sirius complained. “So, you’ll come? The Potters are hoping you will because they bloody love you. You’d get that bonus too.”

“I’ll be there. Is it still all right if my mam comes to dinner Sunday?” Remus had sent a picture of them together in hopes to quell her own thoughts that Remus was never going to settle down. She had then insisted she meet him so Sirius encouraged him to invite her to dinner at the Potters as they had joked about in the beginning.

“Absolutely. You do enough for me. Plus, I’d love to meet her. I’m sure she’s brilliant.” Sirius said, glancing over his shoulder. “Can that prick fire you?”

“No,” Remus said, knowing he was talking about Snape. He could feel his beady little eyes on Sirius and him. “Plus, Albus loves me too much anyway. Why?”

“Kiss me.” Sirius grinned with a little shrug.

They never really kissed, kissed. Just a few pecks on the cheeks or a dry kiss on the lips. Nothing intense. Remus did love to make Snape angry. He also knew that Albus would never let him go. If anything he’d get some ‘Remus, you really should keep to snogging your boyfriend on your own time’ type of talk. He set the book he had in his hand back down in the cart before moving toe to toe with Sirius.

“You've got a freckle in your iris,” Sirius said looking up at Remus’ eyes. “Never noticed that before.”

“Normally we don’t get too intimate in front of parents. Only in front of homophobic bastards.” He laughed, putting a hand on Sirius’ neck. Remus ran his thumb over the skin there. “Ever kissed someone with a tongue ring? You are verra stuffy and seem to only fancy verra pretty men.”

“Ah, we’re going tongue?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Only if you want.”

“Sure. I do love pissing off homophobic twats. Particularly this Snape.” Sirius said as Remus leaned in close, his lips ghosting against Sirius’. It should have made him feel a bit strange he was on Sirius’ payroll essentially but he didn’t seem to have any cares knocking around in the back of his brain. He liked to snog people. It wasn’t like he was getting paid for the moment there and then. He was only paid for actual dates.

Remus finally pressed their lips together and Sirius’ arm wrapped around his waist to pull him closer. Remus was glad that the shelving was very sturdy and not going anywhere. He let out a pleased little noise when Sirius’ tongue slid into his mouth. It was only brief, Remus didn’t want actually to make out in the middle of the stacks. It was only to get a rise out of Snape.

When he pulled back he looked over to see Snape glowering in their general direction. Remus kissed Sirius quickly once more before whispering his thanks against his lips.

“We’re probably going to have to do a little more kissing and touching on the boat since we’re on holiday. Effie will worry if we never show a bit of PDA, especially when they think, we think no one is looking. We could probably get away with less tongue.” Sirius laughed, letting go of Remus then going to drink his coffee.

Remus noticed Sirius’ cheeks were pink from the snog. Remus felt a bit satisfied to know that he could make Sirius look like that after a brief kiss. Sirius normally composed, so it was nice to see him the slightest bit unraveled. “So, what time is this charity thing?”

“We have to be there at 8. There will be dinner and drinks, so you don’t have to worry about eating before we go. It’s a posh fundraiser for this thing that’s like Doctors Without Borders but it’s an education type deal. Monty’s company donates loads to them.” Sirius informed him. “We’re not expected to do anything but to look pretty as guests of Monty. He’s a guest of honor of course.”

“Of course he is.” Remus laughed. He still didn’t understand what the Potter’s company did. It was something in media but Remus had no clue. All he knew, is that they made a lot of money. Monty also gave a lot of that money away, something Remus appreciated.

“Effie’s going to ask you to join us on the cruise Friday or Sunday, I believe. She called me before my meeting asking if you’d be able to get two weeks off of work.”

Both Remus and Sirius chuckled because he already put in for the holiday back when they got their contract together. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Of course.” Sirius snickered. “All right, we both should go back to work. Thanks for entertaining me for a few minutes.”

“Thanks for making Snape angry.” Remus took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll send you my measurements later, I guess, and I’ll see you Friday.”

“See you Friday!”

Before Sirius could walk away, he grabbed his hand and pulled him into a quick kiss. Sirius was blushing again when Remus let him go. The librarian happily went back to work with his cup of coffee and knowledge that they made Snape angry.

*******

The car Sirius hired for the night pulled up in front of the drab block of flats Remus lived in. It made him a bit sad to see where Remus lived the first few times he picked him up but he never voiced that opinion. He knew he would have come off as the snobby bastard he could be but he was trying hard not to be that way with Remus. Remus had happily grown up in his blue-collar world and was working hard to make an academic out of himself.

“Christ, this car. Sirius, you’re going to get me jumped one day. People will think I actually have money. Which I don’t, mind you.” Remus complained as he slid into his seat.

“You know, Marlene and Dorcas were saying how they wouldn’t mind a flatmate the other day because they want to move. You should think about talking to them about it.” Sirius offered, hoping it didn’t come off as insensitive.

“Maybe I will. I like them enough.” Remus said, in actual genuine consideration. “And this place is a shitehole.”

Sirius relaxed, happy that Remus felt the same way. He still didn’t dare to say anything bad on the topic. Over the last few weeks, Remus seemed to have warmed up to Sirius. There wasn’t much more cutting sarcasm to let him know the other man was getting annoyed with him. So that meant Sirius was irritating him less or that was what he hoped. Sirius was fairly certain they were now mates.

“Are any members of the Royal Family going to be there tonight? Do I have to quickly Google some protocol or some shite?”

“Ha, not that I know of. You should be fine.” Sirius patted him on the knee. “So, like, ah, is everything still working out here with us?”

“It’s fine. We’re about half-way through, aren’t we? That’s good. It’s the easiest job I’ve ever had. I should start to rent myself out as a boyfriend. But not in a sexual way.” The man amended. “A professional boyfriend.”

“Aren’t high-end escorts called professional girlfriends?”

“Ah, maybe. But I want the dating and hand holding and only just a little snogging.”

Sirius snorted a laugh. “Well, good luck on that business venture. I’ll leave a nice review for your services.”

They arrived at the event, and Sirius made sure to skip any photos to bring Remus inside. Remus was glad to skip it, he said. Sirius disliked photo ops for those society papers… well, blogs now. He had to deal with them as a child and teenager. He didn’t want to be tabloid fodder because he was a pretty face and fallen aristocrat. Though, his parents or extended family probably would have seen a photo of him and his ‘boyfriend’.

“Shite,” Remus said as they stepped into the dimly lit ballroom. There was red and gold uplighting, the colors of the charity. Round tables were surrounding a dance floor, and a stage with a swing band playing as well as a podium off to the side.

“It is rather nice in here, isn’t it?”

“Forgot how posh you and the Potters were for a bit. Just remembered now.” Remus said as Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand to lead him towards the table where The Potters and his brother were seated.

“Remus, dear, you are a great influence on him. Before I’d be worried if he’d even make it in time for Monty’s speech.” Effie said, standing to greet both men.

“I just hope he shows up on time even when I’m not tagging along,” Remus said after kissing Effie on the cheek. “Is he late to work?”

“Somedays.” Monty laughed as they all sat down again. “Thank you for coming tonight, Remus. It is great to have you here.”

Remus smiled, looking very pleased. Sirius reached over and squeezed his hand. They were getting very good at the small touches. Marlene and Dorcas commented that if they weren’t informed it was fake then they wouldn’t have had a clue.

“Now, Remus, you know we’re going away on a cruise, right?”

“Yes,” He nodded at the question from Monty.

“Would you like to join us? It would be a gift from us.” He smiled.

Sirius grinned, “Oh, please, love. That’d be amazing.”

“As long as I can take time off of work, I’d love to.” Remus put his arm on the back of Sirius’ chair.

“Brilliant!” Effie exclaimed.

After that was settled, they were fed some delicious food, that Remus commented looked too pretty to eat before the presentation began. Monty was recognized for all his work with the charity and he went up and made a speech. Following that they had dessert and there was dancing. “Fancy a dance?” Remus asked.

“Sure.” Sirius nodded. James and Lily were already out there, Regulus and Bill did not dance. Effie and Monty were schmoozing in the crowd close to the dance floor.

“Just dinna think I can do the waltz. I’m sure you learn how to do that at your posh boarding school.” Remus chuckled as they made their way towards the floor.

Sirius let Remus lead. It was nothing fancy. They were just stepping around the floor. He made sure to look at Remus in a soppy way when they were close to the Potters. Remus kissed him once on the cheek. Nothing like the kiss in the library. The kiss in the library felt a little too ground shattering for him. Sirius couldn’t wrap his mind around why. But it was a really good kiss. It was just a funny feeling.

He couldn’t be having funny feelings in terms of Remus. He was paying the man to date him. That wouldn’t be on. So, he stuffed it to the side and carried on. They were doing just as they wanted to do. It was nearly five full weeks of faking it and Effie seemed happy with it. Regulus wasn’t giving him too much shite. Lily and James weren’t being strange because they knew what was going on either. It was all perfect so there could not be any feeling aside from maybe platonic ones.

“You’re not too bad of a dancer,” Sirius laughed after Remus pulled him close following a spin and a dip.

“I think you’ve had just too much champagne,” Remus’ eyes slid sideways towards the Potters.

“Are you going to kiss me again?” Sirius asked, anticipation inside of him. What the fuck was going on?

Remus shrugged, “If you want.”

“Why not, you’re not a horrid kisser.”

“Oi, I’m a lovely kisser.” Remus laughed before leaning in to prove his point.

*******

Hope Lupin was sure her son would never fall in love. He was dangerously close to 30 and he had never had a long-term boyfriend or girlfriend. Not one person had come home to meet Hope and Lyall — when he was alive. She knew her son kept himself to himself but surely it wasn’t usual to never have had anything serious this late in one's life.

Then one day, out of nowhere, she started hearing the name Sirius brought up in conversation. An odd name, Hope had to ask her son what he was talking about because she thought he was saying that someone was being serious, not Sirius like the star. Not that she could talk about odd, she did name her son Remus. But that was Lyall. He was obsessed with history. She couldn’t say no.

Anyhow, Sirius Black was a sudden fixture in Remus’ life. She vaguely remembered the boy from some years ago when he had come to visit Lily with her boyfriend James. She could have sworn that Remus hated him but she didn’t press on that issue. What mattered was they seemed to be interested in each other now. In love, in fact. They had even sent an adorable picture of them together to her. Hope was nearly bowled over when she was invited to the Potters’ home for Sunday dinner.

“Sirius insists, as does Effie,” Remus said. He sounded a little annoyed with it all but that was her son. She wondered somedays what she did wrong to make him so closed off with his feelings. Her and Lyall were always open and accepting of their son. They never judged nor cared that he was bisexual (maybe pansexual, he had said one day but she wasn’t sure what that meant. She had to do a bit of internet research. Either way it was fine.). Neither Hope nor Lyall had been as emotionally closed off as Remus either. They loved and nurtured him. But maybe that was just how he was. She was curious about what he was like with a boyfriend. Did they exchange endearments? Hold hands? Cuddle? Did Remus verbalize his feelings for the other man?

Hope tried not to be too excited to accept the invitation of Sirius and Effie. She told him that she’d get back to him. But of course, she said yes less than an hour later. Remus responded, saying that Sirius was to send a car to pick her up. He said that he tried to tell Sirius no but the man was insisting. A car? She hadn’t realized how posh this boy was. She nearly died when they pulled up to a very nice building in Kensington the following Sunday.

Remus was standing outside, with the infamous Sirius Black. They were holding hands, which were dropped when Sirius moved to open the door for her. “Hello, Mrs. Lupin!” The man said enthusiastically. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

“Oh, Sirius. You’re far more handsome than that picture and my son do you justice for.” She laughed before giving him a hug. “Thank you so much for sending the car. I could have taken public transportation just fine.”

“You won’t want to after all the food Effie is about to feed you.” He assured her.

“Hello, Remus,” Hope said once she got close to her son.

He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, Mam.”

Hope was ushered into the Potter’s home. She was first encountered by Effie, who was so sweet. Then Monty, who was handsome and kind as well. There was also James, who she had met briefly in the past a few times when he visited Lily. If she wasn’t informed otherwise, she’d have no idea they were extremely posh people. They were so down to earth and friendly. No wonder why Remus liked them.

Dinner was nice. It was so heartwarming to see Remus be so welcomed in the home. It also was adorable to see Sirius stealing glances at his boyfriend and not wilting under her son’s sarcasm, which could be too strong at times. Remus smiled at him in a way that he never smiled at anyone else. Sirius was constantly leaning into Remus to get close to him. They seemed to be so in love.

After dinner, she insisted on helping Effie with bringing the dessert out. She wanted an excuse to talk to the other woman alone to get a bit more insight into her son’s relationship. “Thank you for this dinner, Effie. It’s been so nice.”

“Oh, please, Hope do come again,” Effie said as she scooped out ice-cream on top of each plate of brownies. “It’s so nice to have you around. Remus is a delight. He’s so funny. I’ve never seen Sirius so in love before. Actually, I’ve never seen him in love until now.”

“I’ve never met one of Remus’ partners. I was worried if I’m being honest.”

“I was rather nervous for Sirius as well. But it seems like they’re getting on just fine.” She grinned. “It seems our boys have finally found the match that they’ve been waiting for.”

“And we have to hope they don’t mess things up.”

Hope said a few prayers that things would work out between Sirius and Remus. She didn’t want her son alone forever and Sirius and his adopted family were so wonderful.

*******

Remus felt a bit bad lying to his mother but it was for her own good. Especially since he father passed, she’d been more interested in him settling down and having a family. Remus had said in the past he wasn’t sure if he wanted that but she insisted that the right one just had not come along. He highly doubted that. But now he could begin to see the appeal of dating someone if he went as well as his fake relationship.

Except it couldn’t go as well as his fake relationship because it was just that: FAKE. They were doing everything right because they knew what they needed to accomplish. There was no rowing. Okay, that’s not true because he and Sirius did bicker but it wasn’t like I mattered because they didn’t need to fix things to make it work.

“You look deep in thought,” Sirius said as he drove Remus back to his flat. “Care to share?”

“Och, you canna read my mind now, can you?”

“No, that’s why I asked if you wanted to share.” Sirius scoffed.

“It’s naethin. I was just wondering about if I’m ethically or morally wrong for lying to my mam like this.”

“Huh, oh.” Sirius frowned, slipping deep into the thought. “Thanks for pulling me into this thought process.”

“No worries.” Remus laughed.

“I feel like we’re okay. It’s for their best, isn’t it? Effie was so insistent that I find someone, so I’m giving her what she wants. It’s not as if she’ll be heartbroken when we ‘break up’, right?”

“I dinna know, she seems to be invested. She might be upset.”

“I think she’ll be okay.”

“My mam will be upset. I’ll probably try to pretend I’m dating you for a bit longer than this thing is going to last.” Remus knew she wanted him to find love. It’s only grown worse since he dad passed. Remus just wanted her to be happy with his romantic choices for once. He hoped that he didn’t end up hurting her in the end.

“Whatever you need to do. If you want me to drop by for a Christmas party, I’m down. Your mother likes me more than you do.” Sirius snickered.

“I like you. Sometimes.” Remus smirked at Sirius. He did like the other man. They were friends now, co-conspirators in this little plan cooked up by Lily Evans Potter. He liked Sirius even if he could be a posh git sometimes. He meant well.

“Bugger off, Lupin.” Sirius shook his head as he parked in front of Remus’ flat. “You know, I made plans to meet with Marlene and Dorcas to look at a place,” Remus said excitedly. When Sirius had mentioned that the girls were looking for someone to share a flat with he jumped at the chance. He needed to get out of his drab place.

“Good! That also means we’ll have to be just friends when this all ends. You know, for the group. Effie and Monty won’t suspect a thing.” He laughed. “You might even get to come over for dinner when it’s all said and done.”

“We’ll have to be very amicable too. Separate ways and all that.” Remus nodded. “Let me know if you need anything this week.”

“Always do.”

Remus got out of the car and went into his building. He was excited to be going on a nice trip in about three weeks with the Potters and their adopted children. He was glad to be a part of that, even if it was for this very strange reason. The Potters, Regulus, Bill, Marlene and Dorcas were all fantastic. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t know them only a few weeks ago. Remus needed to hold on to this.


	4. Keep Calm & Push The Feels Down

R: Fancy coming out for a pint? Mary, Frank, Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas are going to be there.

S: I would love to. Just tell me when and where.

R: Great, I’ll find out where they were thinking. I’ll update you in a few.

S: Sounds good. See you later.

Sirius grinned, looking down at his mobile after sending the message. It was Wednesday and they had almost one more week until they left for their trip. Something was going on in him, something he was trying very hard to fight but the more time he spent with Remus, the harder it became. He was currently doing his very best to pretend that nothing was going on. Any feelings needed to be disregarded because it wasn’t a good look for him.

After the dinner when Hope joined them, Remus asked a question about ethics and morality concerning fooling the people they loved. Since then Sirius couldn’t stop thinking about that in general. Was what he was doing right? Was it okay that he was lying to Effie and Monty? That wasn’t even touching on these feelings that he was having regarding Remus. Thinking about that would lead to more questions that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be answered.

But right now he was thinking about the fact that Remus had thought of him on a day they weren’t due to get together. Remus invited him out for drinks. That would have never happened if they weren’t at least mates now.

“You’re looking happy,” James commented as he came into Sirius’ office.

“Plans for drinks after work. How could I not be happy with a little socializing and a few pints with mates old and new? Want to come with?” Sirius asked his best mate.

“Nah, Lily and I are doing a movie date tonight.” He grinned, still looking as in love with the woman as he had been nine years ago.

“Suit yourself and your boring married life.” He laughed. In all honesty, he was always a tad bit jealous of Lily and James. Not that he would outright tell them that. Still, he wondered what it was like to love someone so fiercely for a sustained period of time. What it would be like to let someone in enough to be with them for months or years. This fake relationship wasn’t so terrible with Remus. Apparently, it wasn’t really what a relationship would actually be like but it was sort of nice. It was a little bit of a glimpse. Maybe that was why he was having these feelings for Remus. He just liked the idea (that was a lie, he knew that he fancied Remus).

“How’s stuff going with you and Remus?” James asked. He probably wasn’t insinuating anything but Sirius took it that way because he was being sensitive.

“Fine. It’s the best business deal that I’ve ever made in my life.” Sirius said confidently. He was not thinking about those feelings that were creeping in. Nope. No way. No feelings here. They were far far away.

“I do have to say that you two are killing it in pretending that you’re in love.” James raised his hands up. “I was a little skeptical at first because, well, how could I not be? But you’re doing well.” Okay, maybe he wasn’t insinuating anything.

“Thank you. He’s looking forward to the holiday. I don’t think he had many holidays in the past. Nothing like a Potter holiday at least.” Sirius smiled, thinking of Remus without his shirt on. He could finally get a good look at his tattoos.

“We’ll be sure to show him how to have a good Potter time. It does seem like a great holiday. Have you showed Remus the itinerary?”

“No, we’re going to do that Saturday. We have plans to go shopping because he has no proper luggage and I needed new swim trunks.”

James raised an eyebrow then looked down the hallway. No, wait, apparently he was insinuating before.

“What?” Sirius leaned on his desk. He wasn’t about to put words in James’ mouth and accuse him off the bat.

“Need him to help you pick out swim trunks and he needs you to pick out luggage?”

“We’re mates now. He no longer hates me because I’ve shown him that I am not a complete twat.” Sirius justified it.

“Only a little bit of a twat.”

“Well, he’s a bit of a bastard.” Sirius countered James’ argument.

“Only a bit. See, you’re perfect for one another.” James snickered. Sirius could tell he was sarcastic but he wondered what his friend thought about it. He didn’t want to ask because he wasn’t interested in this becoming A Thing. James would turn it into A Thing. It was bad enough that Sirius was questioning his feelings. He didn’t need any other opinions at the moment for this. Sirius needed to work it all out himself.

“It’s almost as if it was a setup.” Sirius deadpanned.

“Lily’s a genius.” James praised his wife. “We knew that already.”

“Yes, never enough love for that woman. Remind me to buy her something fantastic when this is all done.”

“I’ll see what she wants to give you a push in the right direction.” James laughed. “All right, back to work we go.”

A few hours later, Sirius was the last to arrive at the pub Remus said they would be at. That was only because he had worked the furthest from the spot. He needed to be sure to remind Remus of that when he came back to the table. He was at the bar getting a pint. Sirius had spotted the tall Scotsman chatting up the bloke next to him. He wasn’t a fan of the feeling he's had in his gut over that. How could he be jealous of something he didn’t have?

“Sirius, hey, nice of you to join us.” Frank greeted him.

“Glad to come,” Sirius said before Marlene gave him a big hug and kiss.

“Remus is buying you a pint. What a good boyfriend he is.” Dorcas informed him with a laugh.

“Good boyfriend? Yes, he’s busy chatting up the bloke next to him. I’m not sure that the pint will be mine for much longer.” Sirius said, hoping he didn’t sound jealous. He wasn’t jealous, was he?

“That man is always on the pull.” Alice rolled her eyes.

“Och, talking about me, are we? Here you go, love.” Remus said as he set a pint down on the high table in front of him.

“Chatting up someone at the bar?” Dorcas raised an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe. We’ll see how the night goes. I do have to be up early tomorrow and I’m not as young as I once was. Plus, I already have such a beautiful boyfriend.” Remus joked, putting a hand on the small of Sirius back. Sirius felt himself flush, what the fuck was wrong with him? He was never like this, even when he was younger.

“One that doesn’t suck your cock.” Mary held her hands out.

“If I did he widna be paid for it.” Remus laughed before taking a drink of his beer. His hand was still resting comfortably on the small of Sirius’ back. “Actually, maybe, I am great at it.”

Sirius reached for his pint, trying his best not to lean into the touch. He needed this all to stop. He was not some daft teenager with a sodding crush. This could not be him right now. He wondered how long he would have to tell himself that for it to be true.

***

Marlene saw Sirius’ face do something funny when Remus’ hand came to rest on his back. Then his cheeks went pink. Marlene did not want to draw attention to this fact — oh, okay, she totally fucking did but she was also a lovely friend. She wanted to be flatmates with Remus too so she wasn’t about to press her luck. It was best if she ignored it.

Except she couldn’t ignore what was happening right in front of her eyes! She thought she noticed something at Sunday dinner last week. Remus had put her hand on Sirius’ thigh and Sirius went all soft and smiley. Far too good for an act. Thinking about it, most of how Sirius was reacting was far too good just for an act. Remus was pretty much right on target, she thought. But Sirius seemed too genuine about it at the time.

She began to wonder if Sirius knew what was happening to him. The man had about five layers of concrete around his heart along with barbed wire and a chain linked fence. No one got in, not romantically at least. It appeared that Remus might be doing that. The only issue was, this wasn’t the ideal way for Sirius to be getting a boyfriend. He was paying for the man to go to family events for Christ’s sake.

If Sirius did realize that he was falling for Remus, he was probably panicking. As she had already pondered on, Sirius didn’t let people in. Now he was interested in letting Remus in? Maybe he was just interested in actually having a romantic, long-term relationship in general now with or without Remus. It’d be rather funny if in the end, he asked Effie to set him up with someone again.

After two rounds (and Marlene watching every single interaction between Remus and Sirius then Sirius’ reactions), Remus declared he was going to go. “I do have to be up early.” He stretched. “The commute to Kings is killing me.”

“Hopefully it won’t be so bad soon!” Marlene said eagerly. She and Dorcas had a decent budget to get a place but they figured one more income would help them find something amazing. Plus, it would get Remus out of his apparent shite housing.

“That’d be amazing. I’ll see you to look at that place Friday.” Remus said. “I’ll see the rest of you at some point soon.”

“Bye,” Sirius said with a grin as Remus patted him on the shoulder.

Marlene was excited when Sirius stayed for one more round as the others left. She talked Dori into one more as well. She needed to get down to the bottom of things.

“You and Remus seemed to be hitting it off.” Dorcas leaned on the table. Her girlfriend was so smart and on top of everything, of course.

“We are. I think he’s a brilliant mate.” Sirius said, going to put his hair in a top knot.

“Honestly, you’re rather cute together.” Marlene tested the waters. Sirius blushed. The git blushed at the comment. “I mean, I know that it’s fake but I like your dynamic.”

“I’m paying for the dynamic.” Sirius scoffed and looked into his pint glass.

“No, you’re paying for it when you’re at Sunday dinners. Not here.” Marlene pointed out to him.

“Yes, we’re good friends.”

“I wasn’t saying otherwise.” Marlene shrugged a shoulder.

Sirius bit his lip, “It’d be very — it wouldn’t be good if it were feelings otherwise. The ethical issues would be worse than they are right now. He could probably sue me. I’m sure it would be some breach of contract.”

Marlene looked to Dorcas who was raising an eyebrow. “Do you have those feelings?”

“No!” Sirius said defensively. “That would be ridiculous. It’s amazing that Remus even likes me as a mate.”

“That’s… er, Sirius, can’t you terminate the contract and ask him on a date? A proper one. If you like him that is.” She suggested.

“You’re mad. I’m not going to date him.” Sirius made a face as if he were in disbelief. “Why are you asking me this?”

Marlene exchanged a knowing look with Dorcas, “Well, I thought you might fancy him. You’re looking at him like you look at him in front of the Potters without either Effie or Monty around.”

Sirius shook his head, “I do not!”

“Okay, you don’t. I won’t say anything else.” Marlene knew if she pushed the issue then Sirius would get even more defensive and things would go south somehow. So, she needed to let Sirius deal with his feelings on his own. If after their contracted time together, Sirius still didn’t realize maybe she’d say something else. Until then, Marlene needed to keep her mouth shut. At least around Sirius.

“He’s in love with Remus,” Marlene said as she and Dorcas walked towards their flat.

“Oh, so in love.” Dorcas agreed with her girlfriend. “I don’t know if Remus feels the same way. He’s flirty with him but is that just him or how he’s dealing with the strangeness of what their relationship is? I don’t know. I can’t tell.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to figure it all out. Either way, if Remus is going to be our new flatmate then he’ll never be out of Sirius’ life.”

“Bloody hell, Marlene, that sounds extreme.” Dorcas laughed.

“I’m just saying. He’ll have to confront those feelings at some point. Plus, we’ll be able to figure out Remus if he’s our flatmate.”

***

Remus was a pleased man. He had good friends — a few brand new ones too. He was on course for his education after being on and off for a while. He had a decent job that paid his bills and a brilliant one that paid for his fun. He also was going to have a new flat not too far of a commute to Kings. Anything was better than what he was doing now, to be fair.

Marlene and Dorcas were purchasing the place but thought having the potential income of a flatmate for a while would be best. Remus thought the girls were great. Marlene was a spitfire and Dorcas was very laid back. They were an excellent balance for one another.

“This is wonderful,” Remus said, walking into his spacious room. “I canna believe that you’re not going to make me pay more.” He hoped they weren’t pitying Remus with the price they had suggested. He insisted on more but they wouldn’t have it.

“We’re happy you like it.” Dorcas smiled. “Let’s go get a drink to celebrate. We’ll move in the week after we get back from our holiday. If that’s good for you.”

“That’s perfect for me.” Remus agreed with Dorcas.

Once they were sitting in a booth at the pub down the way from their future flat, Sirius texted him asking him where he wanted to meet tomorrow for their shopping excursion. Remus needed a few things for the holiday, as did Sirius. They figured they would do it together then Sirius was going to show him the itinerary for their next few weeks.

“Who’s that? Someone you fancy?” Marlene asked Remus with a laugh. “You’re looking a bit pie-eyed.”

Remus snickered, “It’s Sirius. I dinna look pie-eyed.”

“Would you ever date him? Like, for real, without a contract?”

Remus frowned, he hadn’t thought of it before. Not really, that is. If the thought came up he just ignored it. He did like spending time with Sirius. The other man always made him laugh. He saw how caring Sirius was with his friends and family. He was successful in his career. Those were all good traits for someone if you wanted to make them your boyfriend, right? Remus never felt the urge to settle down but lately he hadn’t gone on any dates outside of his fake ones with Sirius. He really should change that. “No, why?”

“I don’t know. I think you two make a brilliant couple. I know you’re faking it but you can only fake so much. That’s all.” Marlene shrugged.

He did flirt a lot with Sirius, didn’t he? He also was the one who initiated most of the touching and kissing. Sirius was receptive to it. Plus, that’s how he thought he’d do it as a proper boyfriend. He did like doing it with Sirius. Even though Sirius drove him completely mad sometimes and he could still be a snobby bastard, Sirius tried to be a good person. He was a good person. On top of all that he loved the Potters and his mam loved everyone as well. Everything just seemed compatible. But did all this mean he should date Sirius? That he would like to date Sirius?

“I would give it some thought if I were you,” Dorcas suggested.

“If anything you make a very good looking couple.”

Now that it was pointed out to him, he was going to have a hard time not giving it any thought. Maybe spending so much time with Sirius over the next few weeks would help him see if he could do it. He could use the closeness as an excuse to decide if after everything was done, he’d like to give it a real try. That was probably not a good thing. He was hung up on the ethics of all this the other week. This was adding a whole new layer to it.

What would Sirius think if he did ask him out after the contract was up? The other man probably wanted nothing to do with it to begin with. He didn’t date. The reason they were there was because Sirius didn’t want to date. There had to be some type of irony that the bloke he was set up might want to date him. Not that he was sure that he wanted to date him.

Remus was going to have to do a lot of thinking over the next weeks. He hoped that he wouldn’t end up messing up his new friendships or hurting himself. The good thing about Remus, he thought to himself, was that he could easily suppress his feelings. He just hoped he didn’t have any real feelings he needed to suppress.

***

“Really, bright blue with green polka dots?” Remus furrowed his brow at the bag Sirius was holding up. “I dinna think that would be your type of style.”

“It’s identifiable.” Sirius offered to Remus. He was having him on. “Monty has this thing where he ties a bright ribbon to his so he knows when it comes on to the belt.”

Remus moved closer to him, making Sirius’ stomach feel as if he had butterflies flapping around in there. There was no way he was going to survive 15 days on a cruise and three days pre and post in a shared hotel room with this man. He was going to end up cuddling Remus in his sleep, he just knew it. Remus would probably flirt with him endlessly, as he always did. Sirius was going to go completely barmy by the end of it all.

“Right, and you want me to get this hideous bag because Monty likes to tie something on his? I dinna think so, Sirius.” Remus shook his head. “Even if you are purchasing this for me, I refuse to use this one.”

Sirius laughed, setting the luggage back to where it belonged. “I’m kidding.”

Remus rolled his eyes and gave him a little shove. “I dinna mind luggage that is colorful, just not too hideous. Maybe that plain blue one.” Remus pointed over Sirius’ shoulder then grabbed his hand to drag him over to the shelf it was one. Sirius looked at their hands as he was walked over. Why was Remus always touching him even if Effie, Monty, or Hope were not around?

“Hello Gentlemen, are you finding everything okay?” A young saleswoman asked.

“Aye, as long as he’s not trying to make me buy ugly luggage. I think we’ve settled on a good one.” He pointed to the blue luggage. He was still holding on to Sirius’ hand.

Sirius watched the woman talk about the luggage after Remus dropped his hand and moved closer to her to get a better look at the bag. He appreciated Remus’ tight black jeans over his strong thighs and arse. Sirius had to hold back a sigh when the man bent over to look at it. What if everything Sirius was feeling, was just sexual frustration? Maybe he just needed to bang Remus and be done with it? He couldn’t do that when they were under contract. That would end up being Not Good.

“Are you going to stand there staring into space, Sirius? Let’s go pay for this.” Remus said with a snap of his fingers. “Sorry about him.” He said to the woman with a grin.

Sirius followed them to the cash wrap to pay for the luggage. He wished he could talk to someone about what he was feeling but everyone would make a big deal out of it. He didn’t want it to be a big deal. It was terrifying enough when Marlene interrogated him following drinks the other night. He prayed to whatever gods out there that Marlene and Dorcas would never bring it up again.

When they paid for the luggage and Sirius had mostly put aside his current inner turmoil over his feelings, they went to Sirius flat to go over the itinerary for the trip. Remus knew vaguely what was going on but Sirius figured he should show him where they were going and what they were doing so he could pack appropriately.

“So, you and I are going to share one of these suites,” Sirius turned the laptop towards Remus. They were sitting at his dining room table.

“Bleeding hell, we can open the doors and it’s like our whole room is a balcony. Amazing.”

“Yeah, isn’t that brilliant. The bed is on the small side.” Sirius laughed.

“I assume that you’re a cuddler.”

Sirius flushed, “Why would you think that?”

“Because you just seem that way.” Remus shrugged. “Okay, so we start in Amsterdam?”

“Yes, we’re flying in and staying at a hotel before we board the next day since we’re flying in the late afternoon the day before. I think we’ll do dinner and plan anything we’d like to see. The next day we’ll board then see the city and we’re docked there overnight.”

“Brilliant.”

Sirius went on to explain their way through Germany the Austria and Hungary. “We’re staying two extra days in Budapest because it’s one of Effie’s favorite cities.”

“I’ve never been to any of these places. Should be fun.” Remus said, taking Sirius’ laptop to click around on the cruise’s site. “Oh, can we please do the biking in Amsterdam excursion?”

Sirius shrugged, “I, er, don’t know how to ride a bike.”

“You canna ride a bike? Okay, we can do something else. We can do the culinary walk.”

“You can do both. I just won’t be joining you for the bike part. No one will say anything, they all know I can’t ride a bike.” Sirius snorted a laugh, thinking of the time he had tried on their trip to Italy the other year. He had nearly killed himself so he decided never to get on one again. Though he did want a motorbike but that had to be different.

“We’re a couple in the honeymoon stages of our relationship. We’d want to spend all of our time together on the trip. We could go to something together. There’s got to be some great museums in Amsterdam.” Remus went to Googling.

By the time it was nearing dinner, Remus and had planned most of their excursions or knew of things they wanted to try to do. Sirius was looking forward to it. If anything it was two weeks of pretending to have something he did seem to want.

There were few ways around his feelings. They were there but he couldn’t express them or deal with them head on right yet. He decided he needed to pretend. In the end he was going to end up broken-hearted, he was sure. Remus did flirt with him but there was no way the other man would date him would he? Sirius wasn’t worthy of the other man.

“This is going to be fun.” Remus smiled at him. “Thank you for the luggage.”

“No worries, all apart of the contract,” Sirius said, trying not to look sad about the comment. If they were dating for real, he would have bought Remus the luggage no matter. Even if they were just mates, he would have too. Not that Remus would accept that in those circumstances, and if he did it would be a big fight.

“Yep, the contract.” Remus sighed. “I should go. I, ah, I have a date.”

Sirius tried his best not to look disappointed. “Well, have fun.”

Remus looked at him funny. Sirius was sure that he was giving something away with his expression so he stood up trying to move past it physically. “I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner. Same time, same place.”

“Aye, have a good night, Sirius.” Remus kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

He was so fucked.


	5. Just Trying It On

There was an arm around his waist, a head tucked under his chin, and a leg between his knees when Remus woke up in Amsterdam the morning they were meant to board the ship. He was disoriented. It was that typical feeling you get when you wake up somewhere different for the first time with someone new. At the same time, he didn’t want to move too much and wake Sirius up because he was so comfortable. It was also helping him see what a morning cuddle with Sirius might be like.

Usually when Remus woke up in bed with another person, he was either hoping they would get out of it or he’d be leaving already. Sure, there were people he lingered with and he saw a few times. But he never really enjoyed cuddling much. But this was nice with Sirius. They fit together perfectly. Sirius’ hair also smelt very good, which was unfair because they had been traveling the day before and he didn’t shower when they got in for the night. It should have smelt like airplane and sweat.

Sirius started to move a bit so Remus closed his eyes, hoping the other man wouldn’t think that he was watching him sleep or doing something strange. Working out if he had feelings or could have feelings for Sirius was going to be interesting over this trip. He knew that Marlene and Dorcas said they saw something. Remus wasn’t that good of an actor so there was a good chance that it was real. Whatever the This was.

It wasn’t that Remus was scared of relationships. He didn’t have any tragic backstory. He had a rather ordinary life outside of getting ill a lot when he was younger before his diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. That did make him not want to rely on anyone. At the same time it didn’t turn him off from relationships but he wanted to be independent. Being with Sirius would mean that Sirius would always want to treat him, which would drive him mad. They’d have to work on that if they did make a real attempt.

“Ah, sorry. I think.” Sirius laughed, rolling away from Remus with a yawn.

“It’s all right. I knew you’d be a cuddler. I really dinna mind it.” Remus laughed, rolling on to his back.

“Glad you don’t mind because you’re rather comfy,” Sirius said then bit his lip.

“We should probably get up for breakfast.” Remus sat up stretching his arms above his head. He could see Sirius out of the corner of his eye staring at him. He didn’t know how the other man felt but he had grown more comfortable with Remus’ touches. He even initiated his own. At the start, the Sirius was sort of stand-offish with the physical part. Now he seemed to enjoy it.

“This is a nice bed. I hope the one on the cruise s nice.”

“I’m sure it is.” Remus stood up.

When Remus and Sirius made it down to the hotel’s breakfast buffet, only Effie, Monty, and Lily were there from their crew. The whole lot of the extended Potter circle was joining them it seemed. It was Regulus, Bill, Marlene, Dorcas, Tonks, Charlie, Andi, and Ted along with James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius. Remus assumed the rest of the group were going to be making their way down in a bit since it was still on the early side.

As he was waiting for his toast to pop from the toaster, Lily came over to add her own slices of bread to the empty one next to Remus. He looked over his shoulder to see Sirius laughing with the Potters about something. “Lily, can I ask you a question?”

“Always,” Lily grinned. “What’s on your mind, my dear?”

“Dinna get all weird about this because, er, I’m not even sure what to think on the topic. But do you think that Sirius and I would make a good couple? For real? Marlene and Dorcas seem to think we do.”

Lily’s face did something funny. Like a few different emotions were happening at once and didn’t know what to land on. “You want to date him?” She kept her voice low.

“I dinna know.” He shrugged. “I’m trying to decide that. I like him well enough. Possibly more than well enough. I like everyone around him. I like spending time with him even when I’m not being paid to.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “I think you two are nice together. How much are you acting?”

“I dinna even know any longer,” Remus said honestly. He wasn’t sure sometimes where his fake interest in Sirius started and real the real interest ended. If you asked him at the start of this all then he would have been able to find those points in no time. Now it seemed to be all jumbled up. He wasn’t even sure when that all happened.

“Huh. What are you going to do about it?” Lily said as Remus’ toast popped up.

“I have no idea.” Remus plucked his brown slices of bread out and deposited them on to his plate before grabbing the jam. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Terminate the contract?”

“If I did that now I’d be fucked. I need the money to make up for the time I’m currently missing at work.” The fact that this whole thing was a business deal was very stressful. But if he didn’t have the income he wouldn’t be on the trip. “I want just to figure it out while we’re on the trip.”

“And what happens if you come to the conclusion you love him when we’re not even halfway through?”

“Then I’ll panic.” Remus shrugged as he coated his toast in the jam. “I am good at panicking when I want to be. I know I seem calm, cool, and collected but half the time I’m a wreck.”

“I know that only because you’re my oldest mate.” She patted him on the shoulder. “If you do realize you love him, and you want to start dating him for real then I can help you with the money.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Lil. Really. But I dinna think it will get that far just yet.” He kissed her on the cheek before going back to the table.

***

Sirius watched Remus as he stared out over the river to the banks and beyond while they made their way towards Cologne. He was obsessed with the fact their panoramic windows that could slide open and they could be outside. The sun was going down and Sirius wanted to take a picture of Remus looking so content. Or he wanted to walk up behind him and wrap his around his waist.

Better yet, have Remus wrap his strong arms around him. He liked how he felt in Remus’ arms. He liked that his slender body fit nicely against the other man’s larger frame. He liked that Remus was just a bit taller than him. Sirius felt safe with Remus wrapped around him. He was happy that the night before, Remus asked him if he wanted to cuddle while they drifted off to sleep instead of becoming a tangle of limbs in the middle of the night. Sirius eagerly accepted. Hopefully not too eagerly.

The last two days in Amsterdam were filled with food, art, and Remus telling Sirius endless amount of facts he knew. Remus was so well read it was mind-boggling at times. Sirius knew he was smart, he always did well in school and was the top of his class. But Remus’ smarts seemed to be different in some way. Like he had more depth to it.

Or maybe Sirius was just waxing poetic over the man because he was completely head over heels for him. There was no way for him to say either way now. Pushing his feelings to the side wasn’t happening. Well, it was happening in terms of him not proclaiming his love for Remus. But it wasn’t happening in terms of keeping those thoughts far away as much as he could. Most of his time was spent thinking about the other man and how he was going to go about asking him out with this was all said and done. But he was sure the other man wouldn’t want to. How could he?

“Enjoying the view?” Sirius finally spoke because he worried if the silence went any longer then Remus would realize that Sirius was sitting there staring at him.

“There’s something calming about being on the water,” Remus said. “If I were a poet I’d write something about it.”

“You’re too logical for poetry.” Sirius laughed as he stood up to be next to the other man.

“No, I love a good poem. I’ve hidden depths to me, Sirius Black. You have no idea.” Remus pointed at him with a smile. “Looking up at the stars, I know quite well/That, for all they care, I can go to hell/ But on earth inference is the least/We have to dread from man or beast./How should we like it were stars to burn/With a passion for us we could not return?/If equal affection cannot be,/Let the more loving one be me.” Remus paused, looking a little flustered. “I canna remember the rest.”

“Oh, what’s it called? I like anything with stars.” Sirius smiled.

“Ha, of course, you do. It’s called The More Loving One by W.H. Auden.”

“I’ll have to find the rest. But for now, it’s nearly dinner. Want to go get a drink at the bar?” Sirius said after checking the time.

“Sure.” Remus smiled, grabbing his hand. “Come along.”

Sirius let himself be led towards the bar area not far from the dining room. Lily, James, Regulus, and Bill were there already with drinks in front of them. Remus dropped his hand and went to order for them. Lily turned to him with a grin, “Love, do you want to see the view? These weirdos don’t care.”

“Sure.” Sirius furrowed his brow as Lily pulled him off towards the floor to ceiling windows. “What’s going on?”

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean, am I okay?” Sirius let out a harsh laugh.

“Are you having feelings for Remus?” She asked, looking worried. “I feel like you’re. I don’t know, I’ve never seen you like how you are with Remus. You’re like that without Effie and Monty around.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Lily you’re — I’ve fallen so hard for him.” He took a deep breath, finally getting it out. It felt good. “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone. Not even your husband. Okay? Remus and I are so different there’s no way that he would fancy me. I need to get over this.”

Lily looked sad, “Why wouldn’t he fancy you? You’re amazing, Sirius. Your family messed you up, didn’t they?”

“You’ve no idea.” Sirius sighed. “Please, don’t tell him.”

“I won’t, that’s yours to tell. You should think about telling him though. I’ve never seen him this way with anyone before. He’s a good bloke but I’ve never seen him so soft around someone. Remus isn’t soft.”

“Yeah, he’s a cold sarcastic prick.” Sirius laughed. He liked that about Remus. But he also did like the softness that he had been showing lately. It was only really softness with Sirius, even when they were in private — like reciting a poem or cuddling him. He was still sarcastic but Sirius enjoyed that part too. He liked all of it and that was the problem.

“Not for you. Well, just a little.”

“I think you’re mad thinking that he fancies me. I’m pretty sure that he’s just my mate.” Sirius sighed, looking over his shoulder to see Remus grin and hold up a glass with his gin and tonic. “I’m going back over before it’s weird.”

“Break the contract, Sirius,” Lily said.

“I can’t. When it’s over I’ll deal with it.” He wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with it but he would.

“If you’re worried that he needs the money, I’ll cover it.” Lily put a hand on his forearm and squeezed. “I want you to be happy. Both of you.”

“I am happy, Lily. At the moment I’m having some issues with my feelings. This is all very inconvenient. Of course I would have to pay someone to fancy me.”

“That is such bullshite. You need to step back from this or something. I don’t know.”

“I’ll take some time away from Remus when we get back. I’ll see if I like him or if it’s proximity.” He liked him. It wasn’t just the proximity. He just hoped some time away would stop the feelings.

***

“God, Sirius is completely mad,” Tonks said as she rummaged around in the mess of her luggage to find her pink trainers, which were M.I.A. Charlie had fixed her luggage all nice and neat but it still somehow looked like a disaster zone.

“What?” Charlie was leaning on the wall waiting for her. “Maybe forget the pink ones and just wear the white ones that are near the bed.”

Tonks was going for A Look but the white Keds would have to do because she didn’t want to make everyone else late to the wine tasting in Würzburg they were off to. “Okay, fine. But back to Sirius. He’s completely mad.”

“And I’ll repeat what I said about it. What?” Charlie laughed as Tonks slid on her shoes.

“They’re bloody blind. The both of them.” She complained to her boyfriend as she grabbed her brown crossbody purse.

“What are you saying?” Charlie pressed as they walked out the door.

“Sirius and Remus.” She said, keeping her voice low. “They’re in love and Sirius seems not to see that.”

“Oh my god, we agree,” Dorcas said from behind her.

“Shite! I didn’t see you two.” Nymphadora laughed as Marlene and Dorcas came to walk next to her and Charlie. “Thank god it wasn’t them.”

“Okay, we feel the same bloody way. How do we make this happen?” Marlene said. “I’ve been trying to wear them both down to tell me they fancy one another but I’ve nothing.”

“How do they not know? All the longing glances and hidden smiles. Like, what the fuck? You would have to be completely and socially inept to not realize this.” Tonk complained.

“We have to make sure they go on some more adventures on their own. Maybe we can force them into a date night.” Marlene said as they got to the front of the ship. There was no sign of the rest of their group just yet.

“You all are devious. Why can’t you just let them be?” Charlie asked as they got to the ramp that led to the dock. “If they do really like one another, maybe they will be able to rub some thoughts together in their brains and make it happen. You can’t force people to be together. You do realize that the only reason they’re pretending to be together is because Effie was setting Sirius up to date other people.”

“Well, yes, but this is different.” Tonks shook her head, disagreeing to a point with her boyfriend. “They don’t understand that they fancy each other.”

“Plus, the situation that they’re in is completely weird. They’re in a contract to fancy one another. They must feel like they’re in some strange sort of limbo.” Dorcas said as they caught sight of the Potters with Sirius and Remus.

“Even more of a reason for us to not do a thing.” Charlie shook his head.

“Look at them,” Tonks said directing her gaze so Sirius and Remus. Remus had his arm around Sirius’ middle. Sirius was leaning heavily into the other man. Remus was talking to the Potters and Sirius was staring at his lips intently. “That’s what it looks like to fancy someone.”

“I agree with you there but that doesn’t mean we should make things happen for them. Letting them be will probably be the best.” Charlie said as they slowed their pace. “Tonks, promise me you won’t say anything.”

“I won’t say anything.”

“And you won’t do anything.”

Nymphadora sighed loudly. “Promise.”

“I do not promise shite,” Marlene said quietly next to her before the got to the Potters and the boys. “Hello, all. Are we waiting for everyone else or is it just us doing the wine tasting?”

“They wanted to do something else. So, just us.” Effie informed them. “Remus was just telling us some history about Cologne.”

“He’s brilliant. He knows everything. I feel like I have a bloody library around me at all times.” Sirius laughed as Remus rolled his eyes.

“It issna as if I said anything important, just facts.” Remus shook his head.

“I’m not making fun. I rather enjoy it.” Sirius grinned at Remus.

Tonks wanted to smack them both over the head to knock sense into them. She wanted to find the contract and burn it then pay Remus whatever money was left before booking them some fancy dinner. They were a couple and none of this shite was fake. Maybe at one time it was but now it was real.

***

Remus and Sirius were practically abandoned by everyone else for the day in Rothenburg. They all wanted to do different things, like couples. Remus and Sirius did not have any plans for the city. They just figured they would wander around the fairytale looking town for a few hours then laze about in a park with a few beers.

“Let’s go to the tourist center. See what they have to offer.” Sirius suggested as they made their way down a skinny street towards the center of the town. At least Remus thought it was towards the center of the town. He couldn’t be positive but he was trusting his sense of direction.

“Sounds good.” Remus smiled at the other man. His long dark hair was in a french braid because Tonks had forced him to let her braid it last night. He slept with it and now he didn’t want to take it out because it liked it so much. Remus thought it looked nice too. He wanted to weave some flowers into it.

There was no doubt in his mind now that he wanted to date Sirius. He realized it when they had gone back to their cabin a few nights ago when they were in Cologne. In the days previous to that he thought he was feeling some way for Sirius. He was nervous to accept it fully but the other night it was evident and unavoidable.

Sirius had changed into gym shorts and an old tee shirt. He had taken his contacts out and put his glasses on, which Remus thought suited his face. His hair was up in a loose bun and he was relaxing on the bed with a book in his hand. Remus was sitting in the chair looking over the river before looking to Sirius who was reading. The other man looked at him with the sweetest smile when Remus commented on how nice it was out. He felt fluttering in his gut and just a full warmth all over. It took everything in him not to go over and snog Sirius until he was breathless.

“What are you thinking about?” Sirius laughed, nudging him as they came out to a square that Remus assumed was the center of the village. He spotted the Tourist Information Center.

“Why would you ask that?”

“You had this great smile on your face. Like you were thinking of the most magnificent thing.” Sirius grinned at him.

“I was thinking about something nice.” He considered telling Sirius right then and there that he fancied him. That everything he was doing was not just about their stupid contract. That he realized the other day he liked him but he probably had for some time now but he was a moron.

“What was that?”

Remus shrugged, “Like my piercing, you may niver find out.”

“I’ve narrowed down to where the piercing is. I’ve seen you in your boxers now so it’s not your nipples. Though, I do enjoy seeing all your tattoos.”

“You’re obsessed with the moon phases.” Remus snickered. Sirius enjoyed the fact the Remus had the phases of the moon across his chest. Sirius had taken to calling him Moony over the last few days. Sirius (Padfoot) and James (Prongs) had nicknames for one another so Sirius decided that Remus’ new one would fit right in. They had another mate named Pete (Wormy) who they didn’t see much since he married and settled down but he was apart of this nickname club as well.

“Yes, Moony, I am.” Sirius sighed as they walked into the tourist information center.

Sirius went to talk to the woman behind the counter as Remus poked around the gift shop area. He wasn’t looking, but he needed to take a few steps away from the man that he fancied for a few minutes. The nickname was too sweet. He pretended to hate it. He made fun of Sirius and his mates for having daft nicknames for one another. But something about Sirius calling him Moony made him go all gooey inside.

“Okay, I’ve got some ideas. She wrote them down. She thought I was adorable.” Sirius held up a map, which had a few notes on it.

Remus glanced over at the older woman who helped Sirius. “Of course she did. I didna know you were interested in older women.”

“I’m interested in no woman. But she could adopt me and feed me German Chocolate Cake every day.” Sirius joked as they walked around.

“Effie would be so sad. She’s the only woman who can feed you food every day.” Remus said as they walked out the door. “Anything interesting?” He asked, pulling Sirius to a stop on the sidewalk.

“There a Medieval Crime Museum I think you would like because you’re bit weird.” Sirius pointed to a spot on the map.

“Oi, I am not a bit weird.”

“There’s a Christmas museum I want to go to.”

“Christmas Museum?” Remus looked at the blurb on the map. It didn’t offer any explanation on why there was a museum dedicated to Christmas there.

“Yeah, it’s a big thing here. I bet they have brilliant Christmas markets. Can you imagine what this place would look like with some snow? It’s already so magical.” Sirius said.

Remus wanted to kiss his face because he was so excited about this small thing. He was almost sickened with himself because he was never so lovey with anyone. Even his first girlfriend, he wasn’t writing her poems or thinking about kissing her when she did something adorable. But here he was with Sirius. “You like Christmas?”

“It’s the best time of year, is it not? Everyone is happy. There are decorations. There is a crispness in the air. The year seems to think be starting over once again.”

“It’s nice but I just never got excited over it. I always felt that way about the start of summer.” Remus said. Yet another way they were completely different. “So, where should we start first?”

Sirius shrugged and looked over his shoulder then back at the map. “Okay, so let’s begin with the crime and then go to Christmas because I feel like the first one is going to be a little sad.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be interesting. You dinna appreciate it enough.” Remus snickered as they began to walk again. He let Sirius lead them through the streets to the crime museum. He wished that he could’ve reached out and taken his hand. He couldn’t wait for the contract to be up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Auden’s whole poem goes as follows:
> 
> Looking up at the stars, I know quite well  
> That, for all they care, I can go to hell,  
> But on earth indifference is the least  
> We have to dread from man or beast.
> 
> How should we like it were stars to burn  
> With a passion for us we could not return?  
> If equal affection cannot be,  
> Let the more loving one be me.
> 
> Admirer as I think I am  
> Of stars that do not give a damn,  
> I cannot, now I see them, say  
> I missed one terribly all day.
> 
> Were all stars to disappear or die,  
> I should learn to look at an empty sky  
> And feel its total dark sublime,  
> Though this might take me a little time.


	6. It Was Bound To Happen (NO! Not That Way)

They were docked in Budapest, staying on the boat for the night then after that, they were going to have two more nights in the city at a hotel. Effie promised to take them to all of the best places. Remus was enjoying his holiday, traveling around the continent and being able to see places he hadn’t dreamt of ever getting to with great people he was happy to have in his life. But at the same time, he couldn’t wait for it all to be over.

The last week or so had just been complete agony for him outside of the excitement of traveling. Knowing he wanted Sirius and not being able to do anything about it was a killer. It didn’t help that Sirius was more flirtatious and more touchy than usual. He hoped he wasn’t making it up but he was sure the other man was feeling the same way about him that Remus felt for Sirius. Or Remus was projecting and wishing for it all to be true…

Remus decided that he would find out soon enough. His contract was ending after they finished the holiday. So, he would be able to come out with it then. He only had to survive just a bit more time with stuffing all those feelings down. He only had three more days of not kissing Sirius when he woke up with the man in his arms. Not kissing him when he looked utterly adorable in his glasses as he read at night. Not kissing him when he was a dork. There was a lot of time he was spending making sure he didn’t kiss Sirius.

Tonight, it seemed to be nearly impossible. Everyone except for Andi, Ted, Effie, and Monty decided they wanted to go out to a bar. It wasn’t too far from where they were docked so they planned to get wasted and have a grand time for themselves.

Sirius was practically sitting on his lap in the area they were seated. He was leaning into Remus, his arm was around his back and every time he laughed he would press his forehead into his shoulder. Remus wanted to die. But he also wanted Sirius to stay there for the entire night. He could smell his aftershave and cologne, which was so enticing.

Remus took a large gulp of his drink. He wasn’t sure what it was because he let Marlene order for him. It tasted delicious though and strong. When a song Remus didn’t know came on, Sirius stood up, “I’m dancing. You all are being far too boring.”

“I’m not boring. I’ll dance. Come on Dorcas.” Marlene pulled her girlfriend up.

“I don’t dance,” James said. “I’ll sit here and watch and make fun.”

“I’ll make fun too,” Lily said before looking at Remus. “Re, why don’t you accompany Sirius.”

“Accompany? Are we in an Austen novel?” He laughed as he stood next to Sirius.

“Mister Lupin would you do me the honor of a dance?” He smiled, holding out one of his hands.

“Of course, you weirdo.” Remus snorted a laugh. He let himself pulled out on to the dance floor.

He had danced with Sirius before. At that charity thing Monty was honored at. This dancing was different though. They weren’t spinning each other around the floor. They were dancing as one does at a bar/club. Remus tried very hard to not get too handsy with Sirius so he tried to keep them on the other man’s hips and waist.

They danced close together for a few songs before Sirius declared he needed a fag then another drink. “I’ll get the drinks,” Remus spoke loudly so Sirius could hear him over the music.

“No, come with me.” Sirius pouted at the man. “I know you don’t smoke but just come to keep me company.”

Remus couldn’t say no. He followed the man outside and they found an empty spot away from any other smokers. Remus sat on the ledge that was near a window of the building behind him. He focused his attention on the sounds and sights of the night in Budapest. It was mostly young people on the street going to clubs or bars or parties. The sounds from the bar they were in could still be heard behind him.

“Moony.” Sirius interrupted his thoughts, standing right in front of him. The sitting on the lower ledge made it so they were the same height.

“Mmm?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Are you having fun? Did you have fun on the trip?”

“Loads,” Remus assured him.

“Good, that’s good.” Sirius took a drag of his cigarette then turned his head to the side so he wouldn’t blow smoke on Remus. “Only a few more days. Are you sad?”

“A bit but I’ll be glad to go home.”

“Missing Hope?” Sirius asked.

“Yes, she keeps asking me how the holiday is.”

“I’m shocked that the Potters didn’t invite her.” Sirius shook his head and chuckled.

“Mmm, if I — if I stay mates with you all maybe next year.” Remus looked down at his feet.

“Of course. Plus, you will stay mates with you. There’s no way around it now you’ll be living with Marlene and Dorcas.” Sirius laughed.

“I hope that’s true,” Remus said with a smile.

“There’s no getting rid of me.”

“Oh, brilliant. I’m stuck with you now.”

“‘Fraid so.”

They quiet as Sirius finished his cigarette. When he crushed it out with his toe, Remus stayed sitting. Something felt like it was going to happen. He couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t too much of a surprise with Sirius sighed and said, “Kiss me?”

That didn’t mean he was going to protest a little. Keep up appearances. “No one’s around for us to—”

“I know but I still want you to kiss me.”

Remus bit his lip. This was a bad idea. He was still under contract and he needed to tell Sirius about his feelings. He shouldn’t have, but he did. He reached out for Sirius and pulled him close so their foreheads were touching. His arms wrapped around Sirius’ waist and the other man’s went around his shoulders as their lips met.

***

“Where on earth did Sirius and Remus go?” Marlene asked after she and Dorcas came back to where the group was sitting with fresh drinks following a few dances.

“Oh, they’re not out there?” James asked, trying to find them on the crowded dance floor.

“They’re making out. They’re fucking snogging somewhere.” An intoxicated Lily said, sounding triumphant.

“God, I hope so,” Tonks said as she clutched her hands together as if in actual prayer.

“They’re not snogging. Sirius probably went for a cigarette. Which I am going for as well.” Charlie said, standing up.

“I’ll come with,” Regulus said, standing up. “Remus probably went to keep him company.” Regulus shrugged. He didn’t think that the two men would make a big mistake like snogging or sleeping together on one of the last nights they were contracted to be boyfriends. They could at least wait.

Of course, he was wrong though because there they were snogging like teenagers against a wall. Charlie looked at Regulus with wide eyes, “Well, the girls are going to be very happy.” He snickered.

Regulus and Charlie smoked their cigarettes quietly, away from his brother and Remus. The two barely came up for air the entire time. The certainly didn’t notice him and Charlie standing outside the bar. “They are just going at it,” Charlie said as they went back inside. “Like, get a room.”

“They’re making a big mistake.” Regulus shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Remus for Sirius. He thought they would make the most brilliant couple. They balanced each other out nicely. But right now was not the best time for them to jump into an actual relationship. Sirius was currently paying Remus to be there. Things were too fucking complicated and knew his brother. He would probably screw it up somehow.

“Why do you look like you saw a ghost?” Bill asked when they joined their friends.

“Sirius and Remus are snogging out front. I don’t even know if that’s the right word but they are going at it.” Charlie snickered.

“Yes! Fucking yes. Shots! On me!” Lily snapped at James who high fived his wife then did as requested.

“Thank every single deity in the sky!” Marlene let out a whoop before kissing her girlfriend.

“Regulus, why are you looking like that?” Lily jumped up after finishing her drink. “This is a victory! This is a success!”

“Lil, what is going to happen when they remember the contract?”

“I bet they already broke it off.” She waved a hand. “This is exactly what I hoped for. These idiots have no idea.”

Regulus watched Lily brag for a few more minutes before the shots came. Regulus, Charlie, and Bill passed on them so she did those three on top of the one she did. He was now worried for Lily on top of this all because she had a bit too much.

A few minutes later, Remus and Sirius joined them again. They were acting as if they hadn’t disappeared for nearly a half hour and didn’t look like they had been snogging for a while. Lily was wasted. Everyone was pretending not to notice that the two men were probably going to shag when they got back to their cabin. It was a lot.

He felt like he should have pulled his brother aside but what was he going to say that would get through to him? Sirius was a little drunk and very much blinded by love. He also didn’t want to ask about the contract. Regulus hoped that whatever happened would not end up with either of Sirius or Remus’ heartbroken.

***

Back outside, “We need to go back in.” Remus said when Sirius was kissing his neck. “They’re going to be annoying.”

“Okay,” Sirius sighed. He didn’t want their make-out session to end. That meant they were going to have to go back to how it was. They were just mates, pretending to love each other for Effie’s benefit. It was the first time they had kissed without anyone being around.

“You look well snogged.” Remus leaned back but traced Sirius’ kiss swollen bottom lip with his thumb. Remus dropped his hand, slowly down his chest to land on his hip. Sirius felt like his skin was on fire where the other man’s hand went.

“Stop touching me. I could shag you in the alley right now.” Sirius laughed, running a hand through his hair. He took two steps back to be out of Remus’ reach.

“I’m surprised we werena arrested for indecency or something.” Remus shook his head.

“Let’s go back in. They’re probably looking for us.” Sirius said, feeling like he had some sort to hold on himself now.

He wanted to drape himself all over Remus as they were walking in. He wanted to be ridiculous and cuddly. But they weren’t dating. So, they kissed? They liked kissing, they both established that before. Remus didn’t seem to want anything more than that. Sirius told himself that it was fine because how could it not be fine? He had got to snog Remus. He wanted to do that.

When they got in, everyone clearly knew they were snogging outside because they were acting sort of strange. He assumed his brother saw because he smelt like he had just gone out for a cigarette. But no one was saying a word, mostly because they were all too amused with how drunk Lily was. The woman was generally in control of herself, and most of the people around her. Not that she was mean but she was always getting her way or helping others get theirs.

“We should probably go back to the ship. I don’t think Lily should have anymore.” James said as his wife, Marlene, and Dorcas were dancing on the small table in the middle of where they were sitting.

“Good idea,” Remus said, his hand had made its way back to Sirius’ hip.

“Come on, Lily, time to go!” James grabbed her hand.

“No! I’m celebrating!”

“Evans, come on now.” Remus laughed, moving closer to her. Marlene and Dorcas had hopped down and were making their way out of the bar with the rest of their group.

“Lils, you’re wasted.”

“I know!” She said then let out a shriek when Remus threw her over his shoulder. “Remus John Lupin! Put me down this instant! I know all your deepest darkest secrets. I can make your life a living hell.” She rambled on as they left the bar.

They were stopped the door because it wasn’t a good thing for a man to be carrying a woman over his shoulder with two other men in tow. Lily was set down and then told the man she was married to James and Remus and Sirius were her best mates.

“That was embarrassing for you lot.” She waved a hand at the men as she started walking down the street.

Sirius looked at James, trying to understand why Lily was acting this way. She was usually fun and could be a bit fiery but not like this.

Thankfully they made it back to the boat and their respective cabins without any incidents. She was going on about how she loved being right the whole time. Sirius had no clue what was up with her. So, he decided to ignore her and focus his thoughts on Remus.

Remus had his arm around him the whole walk after setting Lily down. He had a feeling when they shut the door to their cabin, things were going to go very well for him. His feeling was correct because as soon as the door closed, Remus was backing him against the wall kissing him again.

Sirius melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Remus to bring him as close as he could. When they broke their kiss it was a scramble to get their clothes off as fast as they could. Sirius wanted to touch every inch or Remus. He wanted to explore the colorful tattoos all over his strong limbs. He wanted to see the piercing he would get all cheeky about.

Speaking of the piercing, Sirius remember that it existed when he reached for the hem of Remus’ pants. He knew that it was on his penis, somewhere because he had basically seen everything else of the other man. Could you pierce your arse? Sirius wasn’t sure about that. He was pretty positive it was on the other man’s cock.

He pulled down Remus’ pants then pushed the man to sit down on the bed. Sirius smiled, kneeling down to get face to face with Remus’ thick, long cock. He was cut and just under and on his glans were four silver balls. “Did it hurt?”

“Obvious, it was bloody painful.” Remus snickered. “Do you like it?”

Sirius nodded, wrapping his hand around Remus.

“It’s a dydoe. That’s the name. I thought it looked cool.”

Sirius considered the piercing as he stroked up. He ran his thumb around the piercings. Remus let out a soft moan when he ran his hand back down again. “Does it hurt? If you’re on top or does it feel good for the person who you’re shagging?”

“I’d been told both ways. I think if we’re taking it slow and I’m stretching you out and you’re good and ready then it’s good. Plus, lube. Lots of it.”

“Can we?”

“I dinna have any lube or condoms.”

“Me either. Bugger.” Sirius frowned before stroking Remus again. “Other ways, I guess.” He smiled before leaning forward to trail his tongue up Remus’ shaft. His tongue took the same route as his hand had a few moments before. The tongue explored Remus’ glans, running over the piercings. It was different on his tongue but good.

Sirius wrapped his lips around him then took him in as much as he could. He was a little nervous about swallowing the piercings somehow so he took his time at first but soon enough he was bobbing his head up and down quickly. He was doing everything he usually did without worry about the piercings any longer. The other man was moaning and threading his fingers through Sirius’ hair.

When he was sure that Remus was close, he pulled back then kissed his was way up Remus’ torso. He stopped at the Moon phases tattoo across his chest. He loved the tattoo for some reason, it fit Remus. He didn’t stay there long because Remus pulled him up for a searing kiss. The man used his strength to flip Sirius on to his back so he could be on top.

He returned the favor of a blowjob with skill. Sirius had been fantasizing about what the man’s tongue ring would feel like on his cock. It felt different but in a very good way. Especially when he pressed his tongue to the head and ran it around slowly. “Oh, fuck.” He moaned, curling his toes.

After a few more minutes of spectacular head, Remus stopped. “Do you have any lotion?” Remus asked, pulling back from Sirius.

“Ah,” He tried to piece his thoughts together. “I think there’s some in the bathroom.

“Brilliant.” Remus kissed right below his navel then stood up.

Sirius propped himself up on his elbows to try to see what the other man was doing. When he came back from the bathroom he was inspecting the little tube. “I wish I could fuck you but, this is fine. Not ideal but it’ll do.” Remus tossed it on the bed before straddling Sirius’ hips.

“Less friction.” He grabbed the bottle and poured a dollop into his hands before rubbing them together. Remus first wrapped a hand around Sirius then himself.

Sirius pulled him into a kiss, which intensified as the other man’s hand worked faster. He clung on to Remus, thrusting up into the other man’s hand. When he did he could feel Remus’ piercings against his cock. He felt like he should have been embarrassed by how quick Remus brought him off but he was living in sexual tension for over two weeks. He could barely masturbate since they were sharing a room.

Remus wasn’t too far behind him. The other man collapsed to the right of him after coating Sirius’ stomach with his come. Sirius smiled over at him but his eyes were already closed. “I need to clean up.”

“Mmm.” Remus sighed as Sirius pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Take out my contacts too.”

“Mmmhmm.” Remus yawned.

“Goodnight.” Sirius laughed before getting out of bed.

Sirius felt looser than he had in weeks. It wasn’t just because he had just got off with Remus. It was as if the weeks of pining for the other man had finally come to an end. Remus liked him too. They needed to end the contract and have a conversation but he was sure that it would all work out.

***

Remus woke up feeling a bit ill. He had drunk a little too much last night, not enough to black out or whatever but too much. He vividly remembering getting off with Sirius. He was not drunk enough to forget that. It was bloody fantastic. But now the reality of it was setting in. He slept with the man who was footing the bill for his holiday. He slept with the man he was pretending to be in love with. He slept with the man who he was trying to not have feelings for.

He rolled away from Sirius’ body, rubbing his face roughing with his hand. What an idiot. Sirius probably thought he was nothing now. Remus should have opened his mouth and told Sirius that he had feelings for him. Now it was bad. He was a prostitute, wasn’t he? It was not in his contract to shag him but still.

Considering the fact that he was stuck with Sirius for three more days, he didn’t know what to do. Probably telling Sirius he fancied him may have been a good start. That was scary. He had strong feelings for Sirius, more so than he ever had with anyone that he went out with. Except he went the wrong way round with it all. Hopefully, Sirius felt the same way and last night wasn’t just a one off.

Remus decided to get up and at least put on some clothes. He was feeling very vulnerable at the moment. Clothes seemed like a good idea.

“Morning,” Sirius said, still sounding like he was half asleep.

Remus looked over of at the other man. His hair was all over the place. Sirius looked comfy and warm. He was tempted to crawl back into bed with him. “Morning.”

“So, I’m going to have to have to pay you more. If you shagged me, it’d be a lot more. We could find some lube.” Sirius said with a laugh.

Remus furrowed his brow, “What?” He felt even iller now. Sirius thought nothing of him. There was no guessing at it now.

“Oh — I — ah shouldn’t have — Remus, sorry.” Sirius stuttered out.

“No, you know, I need to go talk to Lily.” He shook his head, grabbing a tee shirt from his bag.

“Remus!”

He took off, out of the room and down the hallway towards Lily and James’ room. He hoped the woman was at least mostly sober and still not drunk from the night before. He needed to talk to his best mate. He was feeling like complete shite. How could he think that Sirius had changed? He was still the snobby arsehole that he was all those years ago. Now Remus was barely worth a pound to him.

Remus knocked on the door to the Potter-Evan’s room and James opened it rather quickly. He looked rather harassed but Remus was sure he looked worse. “What happened?” James frowned. “He fucked something up, didn’t he?”

“Aye, how’d you get to that so fast?” Remus grimaced.

“I know Sirius better than I know anyone else. Even my wife.”

“Heard that! Remus, what happened?” Lily sounded like she had swallowed gravel last night. Her voice was horse but she wasn’t slurring, so that was good.

“Come on, come in.”

Remus stepped into the cabin to find Lily sitting on the bed with a cup of coffee in her hands. Her red hair was in a bun and she looked like utter shite.

“What’d Sirius do?” Lily asked.

“He — we slept together last night.” He took a deep breath, trying not to feel worthless. For years he worked hard to be independent. Now he was just being used by Sirius.

“Okay…” Lily frowned, leaning forward. “Was it bad?”

“No, it was brilliant. But this morning, ugh, I was already feeling like shite about sleeping with him because of the contract.”

“It doesn’t matter, we’ll end it.” Lily waved a hand.

“Good but I don’t want to be around him because on top of that feeling he said that he was going to have to pay me more now.”

Lily and James exchanged a look. “He said that?” James balled his fists. “I’m going to go knock his head. What the fuck is his problem? He fancies you, you know?”

“What a way to show it.” Remus scoffed, sitting next to Lily. How could he say something like that after they slept together? Didn’t he think?

“Sirius is a fucking idiot. I’m going to talk to him.” James shook his head. “Tell him, Lily.”

“What?” Remus looked at his best mate. “Something other than Sirius is an arsehole or that he fancies me? The last one I dinna believe one bit.”

“He does, Remus. I know he does. I’ve never seen Sirius like this with anyone. He dumbass things from time to time.” James assured him.

“I want nothing to do with him.” He shook his head. “Not for a while at least.”

“Okay.” James nodded. “But Lily, you need to tell Remus what this all is.”

“What what all is?” Remus pressed Lily.

“I was setting you both up. This wasn’t all some bullshite to get Effie off his back. Well, he thought it was but it wasn’t really. I thought you two were great together. I wanted to get you together under these false pretenses because I know that you two are good for one another. You just hated you another because of some daft things that happened ages ago.”

Remus stood up, “I want to go home. I’m going home.” He stood up. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

James nodded, “Would you like me to get your things? I’ll buy your flight.”

“You should stay and talk to Sirius,” Lily suggested.

“I’m not staying here and being around you, who couldna tell me straight out what you thought or him, who thought it would be a good thing to say something like that after we slept together. I’m sorry, but I can’t do it.”

James left the room. Lily looked like she had tears in her eyes. “Remus, I just want you to be happy.”

“Then why dinna you just tell me the truth and save the headache?”

“Because you’re a stubborn twat sometimes!” She groaned. “I love you, dearly. You’re my best and oldest mate. I know if I went to you and said that ‘Re, I think I have a great bloke for you. He’s handsome, funny, and a tad bit insecure and a little bit of a jerk but he’s grown so much. It’s Sirius Black. I know you hate him but give him a try’ you would have laughed in my face. You would have told me to fuck off. You wouldn’t have given him the time of day.”

“For good reason, apparently!”

“Sirius is a fucking idiot, Remus. You know that. But he’s a good person inside. He’s sweet and he loves you. He told me as much the other day. I want you both to be happy.”

Remus wasn’t sure if he had ever been so angry. He was so angry with Lily for doing this all behind his back. She had good intentions but look where it all led. It led to him falling for Sirius, shagging him, and then the man making such a horrible comment the morning after. He was sure he was taking the comment too harshly but it was already on top of him feeling like complete shite about it.

He needed some time away from Sirius and Lily. There was no ways he could fake being happy for a few more days. So he happily took James up on the offer of a plane ticket home with very little protest. James went with him to the airport, saying he completely understood how angry Remus was. He worried this would end up in heartache and he was right.

“Don’t disappear on us, Remus. We like you.” James said as their car pulled up to the airport.

“I need some time away from Sirius and Lily. I’m still moving in with the girls.” He couldn’t say no to that flat. Even if Sirius was an arse.

“Take the time you need.”


	7. Well, Fix It

Sirius woke up to see Remus getting ready. Well, he could see his blurry form moving about so that’s what he assumed. He was glad he had the piece of mind to go take out his contacts last night even if he couldn’t see Remus that well at the moment. It didn’t matter much because Sirius wanted Remus to come back to bed, he could see him there. He wasn’t sure why the man appeared to be putting more clothes on his body.

“Morning.” Remus said, sounding nervous.

“So, I’m going to have to have to pay you more. If you actually shagged me, it’d be more. We could find some lube.” Sirius said with a laugh. The moment the words left his mouth, he knew that it was probably the worst thing to say. Why did he have to say something so daft? The man was still under contract.

“What?”

“Oh — I — ah shouldn’t have — Remus, sorry.” Shite, that was the wrong thing to say, why was his such a fucking idiot sometimes? He was basically in love with the man. But now he had to open his big mouth.

“No, you know. I need to go talk to Lily.” He shook his head, grabbing a tee shirt from his bag.

“Remus!” He reached for his glasses then jumped out of bed.

He didn’t follow after him. He decided to let him take some time to think and breathe. Maybe Lily would just tell him that Sirius was an idiot and did these stupid things all the time. Sirius paced the small area of the room after opening the windows because it felt so stuffy in there.

Eventually, James knocked on his door looking a tad bit murderous. “I’m getting Remus’ things.” He pushed his way in and Sirius scrunched his nose.

“What?”

“He wants to go home and I don’t blame him. You said something shitty and he was lied to by Lily.”

“What? I mean, I know I said something shitty. I wanted to apologize to him properly. I was just giving him his space.” Sirius felt tears welling in his eyes. He didn’t mean for it all to end like this. He said one stupid thing now Remus was running before they could even talk about it?

“Yeah, you don’t say you should pay him more. You should have told him you wanted to break the contract before you even snogged him!” James shouted.

“I know! What did Lily do?”

“Don’t focus on Lily’s mistake — our mistake — because I didn’t put up much of a protest. She wanted you two to get together. She used you wanting to get out of the being set up to pair you two together.”

Sirius should have been angry but he knew that Lily had good intentions. He was the one that fucked it all up. If he just took his time and told Remus that he really wanted to date him then he wouldn’t be in this predicament. He could have had Remus, now it was all out of his reach.

“I’m not angry with her. I’m not going to focus on it. I’m going to be over here beating myself up about what I said.” Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s not interested in talking to me? At all?”

“No, let him be. For a little while at least. He’s still moving in Marlene and Dorcas. He’s not going to make a runner. It will be okay. You will just have a lot to make up for when the time comes.” James said. “Can you help me get his stuff together?”

Sirius nodded and helped put all of Remus’ stuff in his bag for James. He found the other man’s phone and charger and made sure to get Remus’ medication in the bathroom. Soon enough James was leaving with Remus’ luggage and Sirius was alone in the room.

The last two days of the trip were horrible. Sirius was depressed and thinking about calling Remus to apologize the entire time. Lily looked upset as well. They told everyone that Hope was ill and he had to get back to take care of her. That was a lie that could easily be dissolved but James, Lily, and Sirius thought it’d be the best excuse for the time being.

He didn’t know what he was going to say to Effie and Monty about them breaking up. The rest of the group was going to find out that Sirius said something stupid and they were going to give him shite but he wasn’t sure if he could handle Effie knowing that. It was bad enough he wanted to come clean with her about the whole lie. Sirius didn’t want to disappoint the woman who treated him like a son.

He lied for two weeks more weeks following the holiday. He said that Remus was still taking care of Hope the first week. Then he said that Remus was busy with getting into working on his Doctorate on top of working. But by the third week he was sure that he needed to be honest.

Sirius heard from the girls and everyone else that Remus was just as miserable as he was. It was all made worse knowing now, for certain from Lily and James that Remus fancied him back. Sirius was so close to having what he had wanted. Then he ruined it all because he was a walking disaster sometimes. Why on earth did he think that was a good joke? Maybe at another time after they had a few long conversations. Not that morning right after he woke up.

*******

The day that Remus got the last payment in his account it was short four days. He was surprised because he only left with two days to go. Maybe he did the math wrong but he didn’t want to contact anyone about that. He didn’t even want the money but he needed it. He considered not eating for a while and trying to convince some of his bills to wait but he knew Sirius would just deposit it back in his account.

He wanted to hate Sirius more than anything. But he was having a hard time doing it. He knew that the man sometimes said things without thinking. He did things without thinking too. Sirius was impulsive at times. According to James he was nearing tears over Remus leaving early. But that didn’t make up for the fact that it hurt. Sirius needed to learn he just couldn’t say things without consequence.

A week after the incident in Budapest, he was moving into his flat with Marlene and Dorcas. The rest of the group were angry with Sirius over the whole thing. They were apparently rooting for the two men to get together. They almost had got together, which was the sad part.

“We’re so happy you’re here.” Marlene handed him a beer as they all sat at their kitchen table. “I thought you might fuck off after Sirius was a dick.”

“I like you lot. I’m just angry with him.” Remus shook his head.

“As you should be. What he said is ridiculous.” Marlene frowned.

“Inexcusable.” Dorcas added on.

“Not to push, but would you forgive him?”

“I don’t know.” Remus shrugged.

He wanted to be forgiving but he didn’t want to approach Sirius about it. He was waiting for the other man to do so. If Sirius was sincere and sweet, he would think about it. The man was daft and said daft things sometimes. He knew that to begin with. But he wasn’t ready to let go of his anger just yet.

“If it’s any type of consolation, Sirius has been a freaking sad sack lately. I’ve never seen him so down. I mean, I know he use to be depressed inwardly but always concealed it. I’ve never seen him actually upset. It’s not depression, it’s something else. Like he’s lovesick.”

Later that week his mam called asking him why on earth Effie Potter was concerned about her being ill. “She said you left the trip early to tend to me!”

“Bloody hell,” Remus muttered as he walked down the street towards the library. Clearly it had to have been Sirius to think of that bright idea. “Look, Sirius and I had an argument.”

“So you left early then tried to kill me off?” His mam laughed.

“That wasna my idea. I didna know he even said that. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on with you and Sirius? Effie said you didn’t join them for dinner either when they got back.”

Remus frowned as he stopped in front of the library. “Mam, I should be honest with you.”

“Of course you should, Remus. You know I love you no matter.”

“I know. It’s just that Sirius and I were pretending to date because Effie was bothering him to settle down.”

“Oh,” She went quiet. “And you told me because I’ve been doing the same to you.”

“It issna as if you were setting me up with people like she was doing to him. But yeah, basically. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“That was some very good lying.” She chuckled. “He looked at you like you hung the moon.”

Remus felt his heart clench at that. Sirius was obsessed with his moon piece on his chest. He found himself unconsciously touching it. “Well, I felt the same for him as well. But he said something not great.”

“Oh no, what was it?”

“Mam, I dinna really want to say.” He blushed. “It was daft and I doubt he meant to be malicious about it but I was already not feeling happy about things. I left without really talking to him.”

“Remus, if he was daft then surely you can forgive him.”

“I…”

“I know you don’t generally enjoy being in relationships. And Remus, all that matters to me is if you’re happy. But if he said something wrong and you didn’t talk to him about it then you’re never going to give him a chance to fix it. We all mess up and make mistakes. Being in a relationship is dealing with those mistakes.”

“Right.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I lied to you for so long.”

“I understand, Remus. I’ll keep my nose out of your love life from now on. But I do hope that you and Sirius at least mend your friendship. Effie is wonderful and we have plans for lunch in two weeks time.”

Remus laughed, “I’ll try.”

“Good.”

Remus decided the first step to making things right would be to contact Lily. He had enough time not speaking to his friend. She was only trying to do something she thought would benefit them both. He just wished that money wasn’t involved. That’s what made everything so tangled, as it always seemed to do.

*******

Effie watched Sirius fidget in his seat as dinner wrapped up. Ever since Remus left early, he had been acting oddly. She had a suspicion that whatever happened didn’t have to do with Hope being ill. Well, she knew it didn’t because she had reached out to her and Hope laughed, completely unsure of what she was talking about. She was fit as a fiddle, Hope assured her.

Instead of jumping on Sirius, she waited for him to tell her what was going on finally. It was rather agonizing because her adopted son was a closed book most of the time. She just wanted him to be happy but he managed to put up so many defenses that he ruined most things that could make him happy. She was sure he feared being let down in the future by whatever it was boys or success. He had enough heartbreak when he was younger by his own family. She could understand his hesitance.

“Sirius, dear, are you all right?” Effie implored. It was only her, Monty, Lily, James, and Sirius for dinner. Now would be a good time for him to come clean with whatever was going on.

“Remus and I we... Ugh.” He shook his head.

“You broke up.” She supplied for him. She really couldn’t stand it any longer.

“No, Effie, we weren’t even really together.” Sirius went on to tell her about Lily’s whole plan to set Sirius and Remus up. How he didn’t want to be set up any longer but Lily snuck in her own set up under the pretense that she was just helping Sirius. She got Remus to do it by paying him since he was just scraping by and before this all the two weren’t the biggest fans of one another. In the end they ended up working out just fine until that day in Budapest.

“I would have stopped if you just said no, darling.” She said. “All I wanted was for you to be with someone who cared for you.”

“And Remus did.” Sirius said with tears in his eyes. There was clearly far more to this story.

“So, what happened for him to leave so abruptly?”

“He… so, we had grown close and the night before he left we — er — we slept together.”

“Oh,” Effie nodded, trying not to seem surprised. Sirius was not a child and she wasn’t stupid.

“I thought we were going to give it a real go. I fell for him, god, probably over two months ago now. I never felt like I did for anyone else as I felt for him. Then I went and messed it up because I made a horrible comment about paying him more now.”

“Sirius! He’s not a prostitute.” Effie lectured.

“Oh, son, that’s not good.” Monty chimed in. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“I thought it was funny! You know Remus, he’s funny. He likes a good joke.”

“That wasn’t a good joke. At least not at that moment.” Effie protested.

“I know that now.” He huffed a breath. “I honestly didn’t mean it in a mean way.”

“He was probably feeling strange about sleeping with someone who was paying him. Sirius, really, you need to think.” Monty shook his head. “You apologized?”

“No! Well, I tried but he practically ran out the door and the next thing I know James is coming to get his things to bring him to the airport.”

“He was angry with me too for going behind his back to set the whole thing up.” Lily chimed in. “I finally just got coffee with him the other week.”

“What did he say about Sirius?” Effie asked.

“That he — well, that he missed him but he wasn’t sure what he would say to him.”

“Then you need to go speak to him. He misses you. He’s probably waiting for you to go see him.”

“Are you sure?” Sirius raised an eyebrow. “He was so angry with me.”

“All the more reason to go grovel. I’m getting lunch with Hope this coming week. I’d like you to be on at least speaking terms with her son.”

Sirius groaned. “Okay, fine. I’ll talk to him. I think. Right.” He went to fix his hair.

“Darling, it’s going to be fine. Just be honest with him.”

Sirius bit his lip and nodded. She hoped the boy would be able to get himself together. Remus was good for him. She saw something in Sirius that she didn’t realize was missing when the other man was around. But she didn’t want to press it too much. She needs to let him do it all on his own time.

*******

Sirius was sure that he was having heart palpitations as he walked into the library Remus worked in. He asked the woman behind the counter where the Scotsman was and she directed him to the stacks in back on the second floor. He felt like his knees were wobbling as he climbed the steps up to the second floor.

It was nearly time for Remus to finish the shift, so he timed it perfectly. If he could get Remus to accept an initial apology then they could get dinner or even just a coffee and talk some more. He missed the other man in his life so much. According to everyone around him, Remus would likely forgive him. But there was always a chance the man would take one look at him and change his mind.

He found Remus in his swotty cardigan of the day and red skinny jeans. He looked so unassuming when under it all he was a tattooed and pierced sarcastic dick. But he was brilliant. He was also sweet and soft to Sirius. “Ah, hi.”

Remus frowned before he pushed the book he had in his hand on to the shelf. “Hi. Snape direct you to me again?”

“No, so a woman with glasses.”

“Minerva. She can be scary but not mean.” He nodded. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m a fucking idiot.”

Remus nodded, “Good. Thank you.”

Sirius blinked.

“Look, I ah… I’m not good at relationships because I haven’t been in many. I certainly haven’t been in any that started when the bloke I fancied paid me to date him. It’s all been mucked up a fair bit.”

“I’d say.” Sirius bit his lip.

“I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for running off. What you said was inexcusable at the time. But I’ve been thinking about it and I realized in any other situation I would have laughed. I didn’t even give you a chance.”

“Okay.” Sirius still wasn’t sure what to say.

“And I think I was scared because you wanted me too. I think, right?”

“Of course I did. I didn’t pay you for the last four days of the trip on principle. I mean, I shouldn’t have paid you since way back when I fell for you but I was a moron.”

“So, we’re both morons.”

“We sure are.” Sirius snickered. “If we just talked beforehand.”

“Without shoving our tongue in each others’ mouths?”

“Mmm, yes.” Sirius nodded in agreement. “I really like you Remus. What I said was stupid and daft and I’m so glad that you can forgive me.”

“It was a struggle but I got there.” Remus smiled at him.

“So, would you fancy going to dinner with me?”

“Only if I pay.” Remus insisted. “I picked up some extra hours here and I’m not paying as much at Marlene and Dorcas’ place.”

“Deal.”

“We have got a lot to talk about and sort out.”

“I know but let’s just be clear here. We’re going on a date. A proper one.”

“Yes and it’s not under contract.”

“Thank god.” Sirius laughed. “I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

“Not a bad question to ask.” Remus kissed him on the cheek. “Why don’t wait downstairs and I’ll finish up here?”

“Sounds good. I can’t wait to talk to you properly about everything.”

“Me too.” Remus sighed.

Sirius grinned at him before heading back down the stairs. He was going to have a proper boyfriend. He was sure he was going to fuck things up a few times but Remus seemed to want to try to do it right. They needed to be patient with one another. He had some faith that they could do it.

*******   
**About Three Months Later**

Lily watched Remus look at his boyfriend opening his gifts with such love. She never thought that she’d see Remus Lupin so soft and soppy but here he was. The two men finally pulled themselves together and were making a proper go at it. Everyone around them was elated.

That included Lily. But she did not get as drunk as she didn’t in Budapest before things went a bit shite. No, she just had a nice glass of wine with James. She knew that the two men were meant to be together. They had a lot to work on since they both were really interested in relationships in the past but they were doing well from what everyone could see.

“Okay, there’s one more gift!” Remus said excitedly. “Wait one second.” He patted his boyfriend on the knee.

Lily knew what the gift was. James had hid it from him at their flat for the last week. Lily thought it was rather precious of him, especially the reasoning behind it.

“Is it a puppy?” Sirius called out.

“It’s not a puppy.” James rolled his eyes. “A puppy is like a one year gift.”

“It’s a miracle you made it this long.” Regulus deadpanned then Marlene hit him over the head. “Hey, how it all started. I’m just being honest here.”

“They’re in a very good relationship, Regulus. Keep those comments to yourself.” Effie admonished and Sirius laughed at his brother who pouted.

A few seconds later Remus rolled in a black bicycle. “I know you want a motorbike but those are bloody expensive. Also, you can’t even ride a bike yet so I thought we’d start here.”

Sirius laughed, standing to walk over to it. He patted the seat then wrapped his arms around Remus. “Thank you, Moony mine.”

“You’re welcome.” Remus laughed, snaking a arm around the other man’s waist.

“Maybe we’ll do a cycling trip next summer.” Effie suggested.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Sirius snickered before kissing Remus soundly.

Lily sighed, feeling happy that her plan did work out in the end. The two really were just complete morons. Now they were morons in love. She also still had no idea what Remus had pierced.


End file.
